Margaret Stevens

I have specialized training in treating chronic insomnia and OCD. If you have struggled with either (or both!) of these issues, you know how they can rob you of energy, peace and joy.

When you have chronic insomnia, most advice about sleep is not helpful. You probably feel like you know more about sleep than anyone, and yet you still find yourself awake at night and exhausted all day. No one works harder at sleeping well, with worse results than people who have insomnia. It’s one of the most cruelly ironic experiences a person can have. People with insomnia almost always feel isolated and misunderstood by people who don’t regularly struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep. My clients feel so much relief when they learn more about what chronic insomnia is, and how it differs from just occasional bad nights. It also helps to finally realize that you don't have a rare new sleep disorder that no one has ever heard of. During therapy, we uncover what has been keeping your insomnia going, and help you find new ways of understanding and responding to it so you can get the sleep that you need.

My clients with OCD are smart, conscientious people who want to do the right thing. The things that they fear feel like very real possibilities, and it feels irresponsible to just ignore them. They want someone to tell them that everything is going to be okay, but when someone says that, they have a hard time believing them for very long. They might go back and forth between feeling like other people are in denial about the terrible things that can happen in life, and feeling angry with themselves for not being able to stop spiraling. My treatment approach for OCD is based on helping you learn to trust in your ability to distinguish between real world problems that deserve your time and attention, and OCD created problems that can never be solved because they are simply terrifying stories that are haunting you. My job is to help you break the spell of OCD, so that you are no longer scared to trust yourself. You deserve to have peace in your life.

In our first session, I will listen carefully to you when you tell me about your difficulties, and what you have done in the past to try to feel better. I will ask questions to try to better understand what you have been going through. I'll share my perspective on how I think I can help you, and you can decide if that works for you and if you would like to proceed with treatment.