Ann-Margaret Mercier AMFT, APCC
Narrative of Services:
The Gateway Institute focuses exclusively on the treatment of obsessive-compulsive and related anxiety-based conditions in children, adolescents, and adults. I practice using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and, more specifically, exposure and response prevention (ERP), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and mindfulness-based behavioral therapy (MBBT). Our intensive outpatient program (IOP) offers personalized one-on-one therapy for 45 hours over a 3-week period. Treatment includes family education, group therapy, home visits, after-hours support, and opportunities for in-vivo exposures in public locations. I receive great personal fulfillment in helping individuals severely impaired by OCD reclaim their lives through caring, compassionate, and collaborative evidence-based treatment.
Training Description:
I received my master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University and my undergraduate and first master’s degrees from The Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh in Scotland. After completing my practicum at Living Success Center in early 2023, I began working at The Gateway Institute, the first center in Orange County to specialize in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs). I have received extensive training under Gateway’s founder and director. He and my colleagues — who include speakers at IOCDF conferences, advocates, and an executive IOCDF board member — have contributed vastly to my understanding of OCRDs.
Diversity Statement:
I have lived, studied, and volunteered abroad, and I enjoy working with people of diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, spiritual, and socioeconomic backgrounds at various stages of life. I have also treated people in the LGBTQIA+ community. For me, working with an individual who is a member of a group I am unfamiliar with provides me with an opportunity to learn more and expand my scope of competence. I approach differences with curiosity and respect.
Multiculturalism, and especially cultural humility, was a cornerstone of my graduate school education. Virtually every class I took emphasized the ethical and clinical importance of situating clients within their unique cultural contexts, including their intersecting identities.