Dr. Steven Mendoza

OCD, anxiety, and trauma have a way of making life feel smaller over time, like you're spending more energy managing difficult internal experiences than actually living. I'm Steven, a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in working with adults experiencing exactly those things: OCD and related concerns, anxiety, trauma, and life stress. My style is warm, collaborative, and down-to-earth, and I believe therapy can be both meaningful and challenging without feeling overly serious all the time. I use evidence-based approaches, including Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and other exposure-based treatments, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), to help you understand what’s keeping you stuck and build a different relationship with difficult thoughts and emotions. We’ll work together toward meaningful changes that help you spend less time fighting with your internal experiences and more time building the life you want.

I approach therapy as a collaborative process. I’ll take the time to understand what you’re experiencing, what matters to you, and the patterns that may be keeping you stuck. Rather than simply trying to get rid of uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, we’ll work on changing how you respond to them while building skills that help you move toward what matters most to you. I’m supportive and flexible, but I’ll also challenge you when it’s helpful, especially when anxiety, avoidance, or old patterns are getting in the way.

Our first session is a chance for me to get to know you and develop a better understanding of what brings you to therapy. We’ll talk about what you’ve been experiencing, how it’s affecting your life, what you’ve already tried, and what you’d like to be different. I’ll ask questions to help us understand not only your symptoms, but also the patterns and experiences that may be contributing to them. By the end, we’ll begin developing a shared understanding of what’s going on and what our work together might look like, including some initial goals for therapy.