Anxiety or OCD have your life off course?

It’s time for a new path.

Effective and empathic therapy for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions

Treating anxiety, depression, OCD, hair-pulling, skin-picking, perfectionism, and misophonia

I’m here to help.

Hi, I’m Dr. Megan Foret. I am a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of anxiety, OCD and related disorders (hair-pulling, skin-picking), perfectionism, and misophonia for clients located in California, Colorado, and New York.  These issues can take a lot out of your life. The great news is that they can absolutely be treated by research-based principles of psychotherapy.  

Offering behaviorally based therapy for…

  • Anxiety

    While anxiety can take many forms (generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorders, specific phobias), there are common factors to help end the cycle and get your life back.

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

    Exposure therapy should take into account your personal values and life. We will work together to learn a new way to relate to obsessive thoughts and reduce compulsive behavior.

  • Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors

    BFRBs like skin-picking and/or hair-pulling can be successfully treated with principles of behavioral therapy.

  • Misophonia

    While misophonia is an underrecognized disorder, misophonia distress can be reduced with a targeted blend of therapy skills.

Contact Me

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

  • Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder that affects people of all ages and walks of life, and occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. About 1-3% of people will experience OCD in their lifetime.

  • Obsessions are often called “intrusive thoughts” as they feel as if they are intruding and uninvited. They are accompanied by intense and uncomfortable feelings particularly anxiety and doubt. In the context of OCD, obsessions are time consuming and get in the way of important activities the person values.

  • Compulsions are the second part of obsessive compulsive disorder. These are repetitive behaviors (or sometimes thought rituals) that a person uses with the intention of neutralizing, counteracting, or making their obsessions go away. People with OCD can realize this is only a temporary solution but without a better way to cope they rely on the compulsion as a temporary escape. Avoidance and reassurance seeking are additional coping tactics that maintain obsessions. Compulsions are time consuming and get in the way of important activities the person values.

  • Professional treatment for OCD falls into two categories.

    Therapy: Behavioral therapy is a necessary component of treatment for OCD. Your therapist should be specifically trained in treating OCD, using some form of exposure and response prevention. Supportive counseling (i.e. talking about stress and getting support) is not an effective treatment for OCD.

    Medication: Adding on a medication to therapy can be helpful. A primary care physician or psychiatrist can consult with you about what medications may be useful. The most often used medications for OCD are Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

    While each is effective, both behavioral therapy and medication combined has been shown to reduce symptoms most.

  • Therapy for OCD will help you:

    • Learn a new way to manage your obsessive thoughts that doesn’t inadvertently strengthen them

    • Reduce compulsive behaviors, avoidance and reassurance seeking

    • Return to (or begin) activities that make you feel you are living a full life.

Anxiety

  • Yes! And…

    While it's common for everyone to experience occasional anxiety, clinical anxiety disorders go beyond typical worries or nerves. Typical stress can be distinguished from anxiety disorders based on the duration and intensity of the anxiety. Anxiety disorders involve intense, persistent feelings of fear or worry that significantly disrupt daily life. Some of the primary anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), characterized by excessive and uncontrollable worry; panic disorder, featuring recurrent panic attacks; specific phobias, involving intense fear of particular objects or situations (such as heights, spiders, or flying); and social anxiety disorder, marked by a fear of some or all social situations.

  • Anxiety exerts a profound impact on our bodies, triggering a surge of stress hormones that heighten heart rate, quicken breathing, and tense muscles as the nervous system readies for fight-or-flight responses. This persistent state weakens immunity, disrupts sleep, and hampers digestion, while prolonged stress increases cardiovascular risks, exacerbates muscle pain and headaches, and drains our energy reserves. These physical manifestations of anxiety underscore the need for holistic approaches to managing it, emphasizing not just mental well-being but also incorporating techniques for relaxation and physical health to alleviate its effects on our bodies.

  • Professional treatment for anxiety falls into two categories.

    Therapy: Cognitive behavioral therapy is the gold standard treatment for anxiety. Current forms of CBT help you to relate to your anxious thoughts differently so you can minimize avoidance and safety behaviors and life a full, meaningful life.

    Medication: Adding on a medication to therapy can be helpful, particularly for moderate to severe anxiety. A primary care physician or psychiatrist can consult with you about what medications may be useful. The first line treatment for anxiety disorders are the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

    While each is effective, both therapy and medication combined has been shown to reduce symptoms most for those with moderate to severe anxiety.

  • Therapy for anxiety will help you:

    • Learn to identify anxiety red flags.

    • Manage the physical fight-or-flight that comes with anxiety.

    • Relate to your thoughts differently so they don’t push you around.

    • Act in ways that increase connection and satisfaction with life.

Misophonia

  • Misophonia is a decreased tolerance to specific sounds and visual cues. Common cues (or “triggers”) include: chewing and other mouth noises, breathing, wrappers crinkling, clock ticking, typing, bass music, and leg shaking. This list is not exhaustive and misophonia triggers are very personal. For some, all chewing bothers them, for others it is just the chewing of one family member. Most people with misophonia do not trigger themselves. Some people have several triggers and some people have dozens.

    When a person with misophonia comes in contact with a trigger, they have a strong automatic emotional and physical reaction. Common emotions are anger (irritation to rage), disgust, and anxiety. Misophonia also triggers the physical fight - or - flight response. Misophonia is not chosen; those who suffer do not have control over their symptoms.

    The severity of reactions varies, with some people experiencing mild irritation and others enduring extreme distress, leading to strained relationships and social isolation.

    Misophonia usually begins in late childhood (ages 9-13), but it can start at any time in life. Once misophonia triggers are developed, they tend to persist and generalize. Unfortunately, the reactions to these triggers often get worse when not treated.

  • Mild misophonia is very common, with as many as 1 in 5 people having some sensitivity to typical misophonia triggers.

    For about 1% of the population, symptoms are severe enough to greatly interfere with daily life. This means that about as many people suffer from misophonia as more well known conditions such as OCD, autism, or epilepsy. Despite this significant prevalence, misophonia is relatively unknown. We desperately need more research and professionals trained in treating misophonia.

  • The exact cause of misophonia remains unclear, though it is believed to involve a combination of genetic, neurological, and psychological factors. Neuroimaging studies suggest that the brain's limbic system, responsible for emotional processing, may play a significant role in misophonia's development.

    Some people with misophonia feel the beginning of their symptoms are connected with a painful childhood or a specific trauma. Many people with misophonia show traits of perfectionism or high need for control.

    Misophonia tends to co-occur in people suffering from other mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, OCD, and ADHD, and autism. People with misophonia may have other sensory sensitivities (loud sounds, tactile sensitivities).

  • There is no “cure” for misophonia, but there are certainly ways to turn down the volume (pun intended!) on your misophonia.

    Professional treatment for misophonia falls into three categories.

    Audiology: Interventions are aimed at masking sounds or reconditioning response to sound. A common way to achieve this is to use a hearing aid like device to generate white noise directly into the ear, a treatment also commonly used for tinnitus.

    Medication: Although there are no medications specifically approved for use with misophonia, medications that are used to treat other mental health conditions like anxiety may be able to help alleviate misophonia symptoms. A primary care physician or psychiatrist can consult with you about what medications may be useful.

    Therapy: Though research is growing, there is not a specific evidence-based psychotherapy for treating misophonia. Luckily, therapies currently used to treat anxiety and other mental health conditions can help to reduce the intensity of misophonia distress

  • Therapy for misophonia will help you:

    Find a good self-care routine to minimize the stress that exacerbates your misophonia reactions

    Turn down the intensity of your physical and emotional distress when triggered

    Create the right balance between giving yourself a safe sound space by minimizing triggers, while also not missing out of the things in life that are important to you