In Phoenix and virtually throughout Arizona

Specialized OCD & Anxiety Therapy

Obsessive Compulsive disorder
Social anxiety, separation anxiety, and phobias
Panic Attacks, Panic Disorder, and Agoraphobia

Welcome

We’re here to help you outsmart your anxiety and OCD so you can live your life, your way.

Anxiety and OCD are smart disorders, and they go after the things you value most. If you have been searching for OCD and anxiety centers, our therapists are here to help you live the life YOU want, while anxiety takes a back seat. Our goal at Outsmarting Anxiety & OCD (OAO) is to educate our clients about OCD/anxiety and guide you through the process of overcoming your fears.

We understand that the spiral and constant worrying of OCD and anxiety can consume you, your child, or someone you love. We don’t want you to feel lost or fearful of your thoughts for one more moment. We want you to find joy, peace and confidence. We want to empower you to feel strong and in charge of your life.

Let’s OUTSMART anxiety and OCD together.

We practice evidence-based treatment including Exposure and Response Prevention, Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions).

CHILDREN (birth-12)

OCD, separation anxiety, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, perfectionism at school, school anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, and PANS/PANDAS.

Teens (ages 13-17)

OCD, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic attacks, school anxiety, separation anxiety, phobias, panic attacks, PANS/PANDAS, and coexisting depression.

Young Adults (18-25)

OCD, social anxiety, perfectionism, phobias, panic attacks, generalized anxiety, relationship anxiety, anxiety about the future, college or job related anxiety, health anxiety, external stressors, and coexisting depression.

Adults (25+)

OCD, health anxiety, relationship anxiety, panic attacks, perfectionism, phobias, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, parenting anxiety, coexisting depression and external stressors.

Set up your free 15-20 minute good-fit discovery phone call today.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is often misunderstood, even by some therapists who do not specialize in it. We understand OCD and how to treat it. We want you to know you are NOT your intrusive thoughts, urges and images. We understand how time consuming and disruptive compulsions and rituals can be. We will help you break your OCD cycle so you can get back living your life and focus on your values and what is most important to you.

We work with all subtypes and themes, including harm OCD, sexual orientation OCD, sexual intrusive thought themed OCD, contamination OCD, moral OCD, relationship OCD, perfectionism OCD, somatic OCD, and much more!

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Social Anxiety, Separation Anxiety, & Phobias

Social Anxiety: We want to help you feel confident in who you are and how you choose to express yourself.

Separation Anxiety: We want to help your child feel safe in your absence again. We understand just how impairing separation anxiety can be for families.

Specific Phobias: We want to help you overcome your fears. The more we attempt to avoid what you fear, the more the fear grows and interferes with your life.

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Panic & Agoraphobia

Panic attacks can be triggered by a specific thought, event, person, object or situation. Sometimes, panic attacks come out of the blue, in moments where you were previously perfectly content. Panic attacks often cause sensations that cause you to fear something is seriously wrong, maybe that you are losing control and going crazy, or maybe you fear you are dying. We end up fearing panic attacks themselves. And when this happens, we begin to avoid situations and places that feel distant from safety.

Oftentimes the fear is, “What if I have a panic attack and can’t access help?” We are here to help you combat these debilitating fears.

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Child OCD Therapy

Child OCD has you as the parent answering the same reassurance question a hundred times. You have rearranged your family’s life trying to keep the peace. You have watched your child suffer and felt helpless to stop it. You are not alone, and your child is not broken. OCD is sneaky, it is often misunderstood even by therapists who do not specialize in it, and it looks different in every child. We know exactly what we are looking at.

At Outsmarting Anxiety & OCD, we specialize in childhood and adolescent OCD, anxiety, and trauma. We will help your child understand that they are NOT their intrusive thoughts, urges, and images. We will help your family break the OCD cycle, reduce the meltdowns, heal the strain OCD has put on your relationships, and get your child back to just being a kid.

We work with children and teenagers ages birth through 18 across all subtypes and themes of OCD, including harm OCD, “bad touch” thoughts, contamination OCD, moral OCD, relationship OCD, somatic OCD, perfectionism OCD, and much more.

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The Founding of Outsmarting Anxiety & OCD

Hi there – I am Kristin Mervich, founder and owner of Outsmarting Anxiety & OCD. I am so happy you are here. I am a mother of two toddlers and have been practicing as a licensed therapist since 2015. Upon moving to Arizona in 2018, I quickly recognized a gap in resources for anxiety and OCD in the state of Arizona. From that moment, I set out to help fill that gap and bring a much needed resource to life: a team of specialists who understand anxiety, OCD and related disorders and know how to treat these conditions, through evidence-based treatment. I also cofounded and am currently president of a local nonprofit for OCD called OCD Arizona which is an affiliate of our parent organization, The International OCD Foundation.

At OAO, we strive to find that delicate balance between empowering you to face your fears and achieve your goals for therapy, while supporting you with empathy and compassion as you learn how to navigate living your life based on what it is most important to you. Anxiety and fear can take a back seat. Fear will no longer drive your behavior and how you show up in your life.

Founder and anxiety therapist Phoenix AZ: Kristin Mervich, LCSW

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A comfort zone is a beautiful place

but nothing ever grows there.

Are you ready?

Let us help you take charge of your life while anxiety takes a back seat.

Book your free 15-20 minute 'good-fit discovery' phone call today.

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