In-person therapy in Mission Valley. Virtual therapy statewide in California.
Specialized OCD, Anxiety, Trauma, & Insomnia Therapy in San Diego
Helping adults break free from obsessive thoughts, anxiety, trauma responses, panic, and insomnia through specialized, research-based therapy.
You may be noticing:
Anxiety, OCD, trauma, and insomnia can quietly take over daily life. Many people come to therapy feeling exhausted from constantly trying to manage intrusive thoughts, fear, overwhelm, or emotional distress on their own.
Constant anxiety that makes it hard to relax
OCD thoughts and compulsions disrupting daily life
Trauma memories or flashbacks that feel impossible to escape
Difficulty sleeping, focusing, or feeling emotionally present
Exhaustion from constantly managing fear, worry, or emotional overwhelm
Specialized Care, Tailored to You
We specialize in evidence-based treatment for OCD, anxiety disorders, trauma, PTSD, and insomnia. Our approach is collaborative, compassionate, and tailored to your specific goals and symptoms.
We understand how exhausting it can feel to remain stuck in cycles of fear, avoidance, intrusive thoughts, anxiety, or emotional overwhelm — and we want you to know that meaningful change is possible.
We offer in-person therapy in San Diego and telehealth throughout California and Florida.
Intrusive thoughts and compulsions can consume enormous emotional energy. We provide specialized, evidence-based OCD treatment including Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
Anxiety can leave you feeling constantly on edge, overwhelmed, and emotionally exhausted. Therapy can help you regain calm, confidence, and flexibility.
Sleep difficulties affect every area of life. We provide evidence-based insomnia treatment designed to help restore healthy, sustainable sleep patterns.
Trauma can leave your nervous system stuck in survival mode long after the event is over. We offer specialized trauma-focused therapies for PTSD and complex trauma.
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Constant worry or overthinking that feels difficult to control
Physical tension, restlessness, or feeling on edge
Difficulty relaxing, sleeping, or slowing your thoughts down
Fear of making mistakes, disappointing others, or losing control
Avoidance of situations that trigger anxiety or overwhelm
Feeling emotionally exhausted from constantly managing anxiety
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Treatment begins with understanding how anxiety uniquely shows up in your life. Together, we identify patterns that may be maintaining anxiety and develop strategies to help you respond differently to fear, stress, and uncertainty. Therapy may include evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), exposure-based interventions, mindfulness strategies, and emotion-focused skill building.
Specialized Treatment Areas
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Intrusive thoughts that feel distressing, unwanted, or impossible to shut off
Repetitive compulsions or rituals meant to reduce anxiety
Excessive checking, reassurance-seeking, or mental reviewing
Fear of causing harm, contamination, uncertainty, or making mistakes
Difficulty concentrating because thoughts and compulsions dominate your attention
Avoidance of situations, people, or experiences that trigger anxiety
Feeling trapped in exhausting cycles of anxiety and temporary relief
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Treatment for OCD is active, collaborative, and tailored to your symptoms and goals. We specialize in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold standard treatment for OCD, along with other evidence-based approaches when appropriate. Sessions may involve identifying obsessive patterns, gradually approaching feared situations, reducing compulsions, and building skills to tolerate uncertainty without becoming overwhelmed.
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Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
Racing thoughts or anxiety that intensify at night
Waking frequently throughout the night
Feeling physically exhausted but mentally unable to relax
Fear or frustration around sleep itself
Daytime fatigue, irritability, or concentration difficulties
Sleep patterns that continue despite trying multiple solutions
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Treatment for insomnia focuses on understanding the patterns, thoughts, behaviors, and nervous system responses that may be interfering with sleep. Sessions may include evidence-based behavioral sleep strategies, anxiety management tools, and interventions designed to improve sleep consistency and quality over time. Treatment is collaborative, practical, and tailored to your unique sleep concerns and goals.
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Distressing memories, nightmares, or flashbacks related to trauma
Feeling emotionally numb, disconnected, or distant from others
Hypervigilance or constantly feeling on guard for danger
Guilt, shame, or self-blame related to traumatic experiences
Difficulty trusting others or feeling safe in relationships
Avoidance of reminders connected to trauma
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We offer evidence-based trauma-focused therapies designed to help individuals heal from the ongoing effects of trauma and PTSD. Treatment may include Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), EMDR, Prolonged Exposure (PE), or Trauma-Informed Guilt Reduction Therapy (TrIGR). Therapy is collaborative and paced thoughtfully, with the goal of helping you process trauma while building greater safety, flexibility, and connection in your life.
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Why Specialized Treatment Matters
Many therapists treat anxiety or trauma broadly. At California OCD and Anxiety Psychologists, we specialize in evidence-based treatments specifically designed for OCD, anxiety disorders, PTSD, and insomnia.
Our treatments are:
research-backed and evidence-based
goal-oriented and practical
collaborative rather than one-size-fits-all
tailored to your symptoms, history, and goals
Meet Your Psychologists
Dr. Michelle Lyons specializes in evidence-based therapy for OCD, anxiety disorders, trauma and PTSD. She is passionate about helping clients break free from patterns that keep them stuck and creating treatment plans tailored to each individual’s goals and lived experiences.
Robert Lyons, PhD
Dr. Robert Lyons specializes in evidence-based treatment for OCD, PTSD, insomnia, and anxiety disorders. His approach focuses on helping clients confront the patterns maintaining distress while building lasting and meaningful change.
Serving Clients in San Diego & Online in CA & FL
In-person therapy in Mission Valley + telehealth throughout California and Florida
specialty treatment for OCD, anxiety, insomnia, and trauma in San Diego
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specialty treatment for OCD, anxiety, insomnia, and trauma in San Diego —
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
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Yes. We offer teletherapy throughout California and Florida, as well as in-person therapy in Mission Valley in San Diego.
Research shows that many evidence-based treatments for OCD, anxiety, PTSD, and insomnia can be highly effective through telehealth, allowing you to access specialized care from the comfort of home.
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We specialize in evidence-based treatments that are supported by decades of research. Depending on your goals and symptoms, treatment may include Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Trauma-Informed Guilt Reduction Therapy (TrIGR), and behavioral treatments for insomnia.
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Yes. OCD is one of our primary specialties. We provide specialized OCD treatment using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold-standard treatment for OCD. We work with many forms of OCD, including intrusive thoughts, contamination fears, harm OCD, relationship OCD, scrupulosity, checking compulsions, mental compulsions, and perfectionism-related OCD symptoms.
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Many of our clients come to us after previous therapy experiences that felt ineffective or incomplete. General talk therapy alone is often not enough for conditions like OCD, PTSD, panic disorder, or chronic insomnia. Our approach is specialized, structured, and tailored to the specific patterns keeping you stuck.
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The first step is scheduling a free consultation. We’ll talk through what has been going on, answer any questions you may have, and help determine the best next steps for treatment. We know reaching out can feel difficult, and we aim to make the process feel as comfortable and straightforward as possible.