Anais Rodriguez-Thompson, PhD

I use Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and the Unified Protocol for Trandiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) to treat a range of anxiety disorders, including OCD, across the agespan (children, teens, adults). I particularly enjoy adapting these treatments to better suit the needs of people who want support in multiple areas, especially those wanting to treat both OCD and trauma. I also offer support for parents of anxious youth through SPACE therapy. As a specialty focus of mine, I dedicate over half of my caseload to working with individuals and families with OCD and anxiety disorders.

For those with ADHD and/or Autism, I follow a standard ERP protocol with accommodations (e.g., fidgeting or stimming during exposures, visual prompts).

For those with Borderline Personality Disorder, I provide comprehensive DBT services and can target OCD once high priority (life-threatening) targets are addressed.

For co-occurring mood disorders, I offer transdiagnostic treatments, such as the UP, where we can simultaneously target mood symptoms and engage in ERP.

While pursuing my doctorate in Clinical Psychology at UNC Chapel Hill, I extensively trained in cognitive-behavioral approaches for treating OCD and a range of anxiety disorders in children and adults and trained for multiple years in assessing perinatal OCD. I also co-developed and ran a SPACE group for caregivers of anxious youth. During my internship year at the Durham VA, I specialized in applying cognitive-behavioral techniques to treating trauma and co-occurring anxiety. During my postdoctoral training, I was trained by the co-developer of the UP, and developed my specialty focus in treating both OCD and trauma using transdiagnostic approaches.

Learning about cultural factors for assessing and treating anxiety and considerations for marginalized groups is important to me and is integrated into my treatment and continued learning. During my internship at the Durham VA, I trained in using assessments tools about identity and racism-related stress. I participate in workshops and trainings such as “Dismantling Oppressive Treatment of Anxiety” as part of the Inclusive Therapists community and was part of the IDHA’s learning cohort for their “Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum.”