Hayley Clausing

As a child, I witnessed a close family member dealing with a chronic mental health condition. It was so challenging. It gave me real empathy for people who are struggling. There's empathy and connection in a therapeutic professional relationship, of course, but it's not the same as when it's within your close circle. In school, I explored different areas of the therapy world and decided this was the career for me.

As I researched OCD, I found that ERP was a good match for my style. It's a hands-on type of therapy that involves holding people accountable. You're able to have really direct conversations about what's going on and what needs to happen to see progress.

I've worked with folks with trauma, anxiety, depression, and different kinds of family transition concerns. Using the family systems model to look at the histories and current situations of families is really fascinating to me—the traumas and difficulties almost everyone can relate to in some way.

Check in with yourself about your readiness for treatment and your willingness to show commitment. Compared to other styles of therapy, ERP requires consistent commitment to see changes and progress. But you can do it.

I would invite you to explore that with me. How can I make our therapy space safer? How can I enable us to come to a place—maybe not in the very next session, but eventually—where you feel like you can share what's going on? You should also know that I've heard lots of things you might not even imagine. Whatever you're afraid of sharing, I have probably already heard it.