Tierney McMahon PhD

My practice primarily focuses on OCD and anxiety disorder treatment in adolescents and adults. About 25% of my clients have OCD as a primary diagnosis, with the remainder of my clients having an anxiety or trauma-related primary diagnosis. As such, exposure and techniques that focus on acceptance and “letting go” skills are what I am working on with clients day-in and day-out.

My primary modality is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a transdiagnostic approach to therapy that addresses common processes across mental health disorders, especially avoidance and repetitive negative thought. I treat conditions that tend to co-occur with OCD, such as Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety, Panic, PTSD, and Depression. I structure treatment according to the client’s presenting needs and stated goals, which often involves values-informed exposures, behavior change strategies, mindfulness practice to help develop acceptance, defusion, and present-moment awareness, and developing flexibility in coping with symptoms.

I completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University at Buffalo, where my research and clinical training was focused on the assessment and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. I completed a 1 year postdoctoral fellowship at the Sleep and Anxiety Treatment and Research Program at the Medical University of South Carolina, where I primarily treated anxiety disorders, including OCD. I then completed a 2 year postdoctoral fellowship at Northwestern University focused on the dissemination and effectiveness of mindfulness-based therapies for youth with anxiety. I regularly participate in consultation groups focused on OCD.