Andrea Kilroy

Throughout my life, I've always found myself helping people and volunteering a lot. The helping professions were very appealing to me, and I was drawn to the field of therapy. The most gratifying thing about my job is when I see people making changes. As therapists, we can provide people with as many tools as possible, but at the end of the day, it's up to the person to use those tools. When I actually see people using the tools, even if it's the first time when they're practicing, I love it.

Early on, I found myself working with many people who were dealing with anxiety. Sometimes, what we were doing wasn't effective. When I did a little more research, I found that the OCD diagnosis fit some of those people, and it made more sense why those interventions for anxiety didn't fit. I wanted to educate myself more and be able to support people with OCD in the most effective way.

For my first couple years as a therapist, I worked with the inpatient population in crisis situations—people with suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, and people who weren't able to take care of themselves. I also treated a lot of chronic and intense depression. I've done a lot of family therapy, as well.

It's good to have a basic understanding of why you want to come in. What thoughts do you want to focus on? What thoughts are affecting your life? Recognize that therapy is going to be a little uncomfortable at times. But we are moving through the process of that discomfort to a point where you can manage it much better.

Just talk about that fear, even if you can’t talk about the thoughts right away. You don't have to talk about the thoughts, but you can talk to me about your feelings about them. That can help us get started.