Hi, I’m Kayla!

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I’m passionate about helping people get their lives back from OCD and anxiety.

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I'm a therapist based out of San Francisco, CA. If you've been diagnosed with or suspect you may have OCD or an anxiety disorder, you're in the right place!

Is anxiety impacting your relationships, work, or quality of life? Have you spent years trying – and failing – to get rid of anxiety on your own? Or have you tried therapy before, only to find that talking about anxiety doesn’t help you change it?

The cycle of anxiety is exhausting. You might have temporary methods to relieve it, only to have the anxiety return minutes or hours later. This can feel so frustrating and discouraging.

I can help you gain the skills to break out of this cycle and get back to living and enjoying life.

I specialize in a treatment model called ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention). ERP is the gold-standard, evidence-based treatment for anxiety and OCD.

Working together, we’re going to understand the ways anxiety is getting in the way for you. Then, we’ll take small, gradual steps towards facing (and ultimately conquering!) those fears.

I’m fully confident in this approach for treating OCD and anxiety disorders and have had the honor of getting to help so many people get their lives back through ERP.

If you’re interested in knowing more, I’d love to meet you and would be thrilled to be part of your journey!

Conditions I Treat

  • Young woman sitting on the floor against a white wall, holding her knees to her chest, appearing distressed.

    Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

    You may have OCD if you are experiencing unwanted, distressing intrusive thoughts that are leading you to engage in compulsive behaviors to prevent something bad from happening and to relieve anxiety.

  • A young man with glasses and a bun hairstyle leans against a brick wall, looking at his phone. Two young women stand nearby, one talking and the other observing, on a city sidewalk with benches and buildings.

    Social Anixety Disorder

    You may have Social Anxiety Disorder if you are experiencing a persistent and distressing fear of being observed or judged by others and if social situations almost always cause you to feel anxious.

  • Woman clutching her chest, experiencing chest pain or discomfort.

    Panic Disorder

    You may have Panic Disorder if you are experiencing recurrent episodes of intense fear or anxiety, seemingly out of the blue, and find yourself constantly fearing another episode.

  • Agoraphobia

    You may have Agoraphobia if you are experiencing intense fear in places where escape would be difficult or help may be unavailable, often leading to avoidance of being in these places.

  • Inside an airplane cabin showing passengers seated in rows with personal screens on the back of the seats, and a flight attendant standing at the front, blurred in the background.

    Specific Phobia

    You may have a Specific Phobia if you have an extreme fear of a specific object or situation that poses little to no real danger and that this fear is causing disruptions in your ability to live your life.

  • A young man in a yellow sweater sitting on a gray couch with his hands clasped in front of his face in a thoughtful or stressed pose.

    Generalized Anxiety Disorder

    You may have Generalized Anxiety Disorder if you are experiencing excessive and persistent worrying that causes physical anxiety symptoms and disrupts your daily life.

Treatment Model

Despite these all being unique, individual mental health conditions, they all persist due to a cycle of fear and some kind of behavioral response to that fear. Each of these diagnoses can be effectively treated using ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention), an evidence-based treatment model that allows you to gradually face your fears while also reducing and eventually eliminating the behaviors that are keeping these fears in place.

ERP is a short-term, structured therapy with an emphasis on skill-building. Throughout treatment, you’ll learn how to tolerate and accept unwanted thoughts and feelings, live with life’s hardest uncertainties, and make values-based choices instead of fear-based choices.

FAQ

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  • I work with adults (18+) who are living anywhere in the state of California.

    I work with individuals from a wide range of diverse backgrounds and experiences.

  • Research has shown that most people need 12-20 ERP sessions to start seeing notable improvements.

    That being said, my clients get the most out of therapy when they’re committed to sticking with our goals both in and out of sessions. The more work you’re willing to put in, the sooner you’ll start noticing a reduction in your symptoms. This translates to less time and money going towards therapy in the long run and more time living and enjoying your life.

  • My practice is all online. I use a program called Simple Practice that allows us to have secure, HIPAA-compliant telehealth sessions. I’ve found that this increases the accessibility of therapy while also allowing us to face a wider range of fears to tackle with ERP.

  • At this time I don’t take insurance. However, I can provide a Superbill for services at your request.

  • My fee is $250 for a 50 minute session

  • Because I specialize in ERP and treating the conditions listed above, I may not be the best treatment provider for you if you are experiencing a different mental health condition outside of my scope. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, substance use concerns, or self-harm or suicidal behaviors, I encourage you to get treatment specifically for these concerns. Going directly through your insurance or using a provider search tool like Psychology Today can be great ways to find a therapist for the specific issue you’re experiencing. In some cases, I can provide co-therapy with an outside provider if you are experiencing one of these issues in addition to a condition that I treat.

  • I’m committed to providing structured, short-term therapy and thus I do not provide long-term talk therapy. Additionally, if you’re experiencing OCD or an anxiety disorder, evidence has shown that talk therapy is not an effective treatment for these conditions. I’d love to talk to you and share more about why ERP is ultimately a better approach than traditional talk therapy for what you’re experiencing!

  • I’m going to ask you to do things that are going to help you get power and control back from your OCD/anxiety, and by nature this means doing things that at this point you’re reluctant to do. However, we’ll take a gradual approach throughout treatment which will allow you to gain confidence as you go.

    Additionally, you’re in charge here! I’m going to suggest things I think may be helpful, but ultimately you are the one choosing what you are open to doing. And please know, I’ll never ask you to do anything that I believe to be genuinely harmful to you or another person or anything I wouldn’t do myself.

    You’re in good hands, I promise.

One more thing!

Under the No Surprises Act, you have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your mental health care will cost. This estimate will be provided in writing before your first session or upon request. It includes the expected costs of services you may receive as part of your care.

If you have any questions about your estimate or fees, feel free to reach out—I’m happy to provide more information.

Curious to know more?

I offer a complimentary 20-minute phone consultation where we can discuss my practice and get to know each other. This is an opportunity for me to understand the challenges you're facing and determine if I'm the right therapist to support you. If we both feel it's a good fit, we can then schedule our first session.

Please feel free to find a time that works for you on my calendar.

Alternatively, you’re welcome to contact me via email or phone to set up a consultation.

kayla@therapywithkayla.com
(510) 224-3464

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