About Me

OCD tells you it will make your life better and protect what matters most, yet you find yourself being pulled farther and farther away from what truly matters to you. Living with poorly managed OCD is incredibly difficult in ways that most people can't fully grasp.

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As a therapist with lived experience of this complex and often misunderstood condition, I know firsthand both how painful and debilitating OCD can be, but also the limitations of traditional talk therapy in treating obsessions and compulsions. I have lived with OCD and anxiety since childhood but didn't receive evidence-based treatment until my late 20s, shortly before becoming a therapist myself.

I learned that OCD is akin to a brain glitch that gets you stuck in the wrong gear. It's a condition rooted largely in genetic inheritance (approximately 40%), along with a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. I discovered that, as terrifying as it feels, OCD is ultimately a mind game. Before receiving specialized therapy, I, like many people with OCD, was trying my very hardest to beat it while unknowingly falling prey to its antics. Without evidence-based strategies, I wasn't even "in the game," so to speak.

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My goal as a therapist is to empower clients by working collaboratively alongside them to provide clinically effective tools and emotional support — not just to manage symptoms of OCD, related disorders, and anxiety, but to thrive beyond the illusion of absolute certainty. I take great care in my work with clients and aim to provide them with compassionate, individualized support rooted in clinical best practices. I am trained in exposure and response prevention (ERP), acceptance & commitment therapy (ACT), and mindfulness-based therapy. I additionally incorporate principles from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), inference-based cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT), and self-compassion as needed.

I am creative and resourceful in the work that I do, offering educational resources, handouts that I have created, and invitations to community events and support groups. My work is flexible and versatile, including office visits, virtual sessions, home visits, and — my personal favorite — exposures in public places. My office is conveniently located next door to California's largest shopping mall, South Coast Plaza, providing ample opportunities for exposures in the real world. I offer The Gateway Institute's three-week intensive outpatient program (IOP) to those with moderate-to-severe OCD. I often treat co-occurring related disorders (including BDD) and anxiety disorders in conjunction with OCD. I am not currently accepting weekly clients.

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Before pursuing my master's degree in clinical psychology, I studied English literature in Scotland at the Universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh. I consider myself a lifelong learner and love exploring topics that interest me — ranging from OCD, trauma, and neurodiversity to subjects beyond mental health, like children’s literature, history, and sociology. In my free time, I like to read, travel, manage a scholarship program I founded in memory of my mother (the PLV Scholarship), and spend time with my husband and our three cats.

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​You, I, and everyone impacted by OCD deserve a better life than what OCD has to offer; you deserve the freedom and peace of mind that come from successfully managing these conditions. With courage and commitment, those who choose recovery from OCD can — and do — get better. I am dedicated to providing quality services in a judgment-free zone, where clients can speak openly about their struggles and know that they'll be met with genuine care by a fellow human. who is familiar not only with OCD’s complexities, but with the hope that lies in treatment.