Therapy for anxiety, depression, and OCD in Nashville and Franklin
These three are the most common reasons adults contact us, and they overlap more than people expect. Each section below explains what the experience can look like, what therapy aims to change, and who here works with it.
Which emotional wellbeing concerns can therapy help with?
Anxiety and panic, depression, and OCD are the three people bring to us most often, and each is something therapy can work with. Every section below covers what the experience can look like, what therapy aims to change, and who here works with it.
Anxiety and panic
A body that will not settle, worry that keeps running, panic that arrives without warning, and the avoidance that grows around it.
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Depression
Flatness, low energy, losing interest in what used to matter, and the effort of seeming fine to everyone else.
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OCD
Intrusive thoughts, checking, counting, seeking reassurance, and the rituals that hold the anxiety down for a while.
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What does anxiety and panic feel like?
Anxiety is not one thing. For some people it is a low hum of worry that never quite switches off, for others it arrives as panic with no obvious trigger. Both are common, and both are workable in therapy.
What it can look like
A body that will not settle, a mind rehearsing conversations before they happen, panic that arrives without warning, and the avoiding that grows around whatever set it off.
What therapy aims to change
Not the removal of all anxiety, which is not a realistic goal for anyone. Less avoidance, more room to do the things that matter, and a body that comes back down after stress rather than staying braced.
How it is usually worked with
Often with approaches that work below the level of explanation, such as AEDP, EMDR, or somatic therapy, alongside practical work on the avoidance that keeps anxiety going. Your clinician explains why they suggest a particular one.
What does depression feel like?
Depression is not only sadness. It changes sleep, appetite, concentration, and the capacity to care about things, which is why it is often mistaken for exhaustion or for becoming a flatter version of yourself.
What it can look like
Flatness rather than tears, sleeping too much or too little, a short fuse, losing interest in what used to matter, and the effort of seeming fine to everyone else.
What therapy aims to change
Understanding what is holding the flatness in place, getting days moving again, and rebuilding routines and contact with people rather than just counting symptoms.
How it is usually worked with
Often with IFS or AEDP, which work with the parts of you that went quiet, alongside practical work on sleep, movement, and the isolation that deepens low mood.
What does OCD feel like?
OCD is not a preference for tidiness. It is a loop: an unwanted thought arrives, it feels dangerous or shameful, anxiety rises, and a ritual brings relief for a short while before the doubt returns.
What it can look like
Checking, counting, repeating, washing, mentally reviewing, or asking others for reassurance. The ritual is not the problem itself, it is the attempt to make an unwanted thought feel safe.
What therapy aims to change
Not the absence of intrusive thoughts, which everyone has. A different response to them: noticing one without treating it as information, and loosening the rituals that keep the loop turning.
How it is usually worked with
Approaches such as EMDR or IFS are used where the loop has roots in something that happened, alongside structured work on the ritual itself. Your clinician will explain the reasoning before you begin.
Which therapists work with anxiety, depression, and OCD?
Six clinicians work across these areas at both offices, and their training differs as much as their manner does. That matters more than people expect, so read until one sounds like someone you could talk to.
Franklin
Colleen Barrett
LCSW · Franklin · Children, teens and families
Franklin
Daniel Okafor
LMFT · Franklin · Adults and couples
Franklin
Erin Castellanos
LMFT · Franklin · Adults and couples
Nashville
Jordan Whitfield
LPC · Nashville · Adults
Nashville
Maya Ellison
LPC-MHSP · Nashville · Adults
Nashville
Priya Raghunathan
PhD · Nashville · Teens and adults
What do people ask about anxiety, depression, and OCD?
The questions that come up in first calls, answered plainly rather than in clinical language.
Is anxiety always a problem?
No. Anxiety is a normal response and useful in short bursts. It becomes something to work on when it is out of proportion to the situation, when it lasts weeks or months, or when it starts deciding what you avoid.
Can therapy help with panic attacks?
Panic is one of the more workable things people bring. Therapy usually starts with understanding what a panic attack actually is, which loosens the fear of the next one, then gradually testing the situations that have been avoided.
How do I know if it is depression or burnout?
They can look alike, and burnout can tip into depression. One rough guide: burnout eases when the load comes off, while depression tends to stay low even when nothing is being demanded of you. Tell your clinician that both seem possible.
How is OCD worked with in therapy?
By separating the intrusive thought from the response to it. That usually means understanding the loop, then reducing the rituals and reassurance that keep it going, at a pace you can tolerate rather than all at once.
Do I need a diagnosis before I book?
No. Most people arrive with a description rather than a diagnosis. A clinician will talk through what has been happening and will say so if a diagnosis would be useful for you or for insurance.
What if none of these quite fits?
That is common, and it is not a reason to wait. Anxiety, depression, and OCD overlap with each other and with other things, and the first call is a conversation rather than a test.
How do I start therapy for anxiety, depression, or OCD?
Request an appointment and we will arrange a free 15 minute phone call. You can say what has been going on, ask who would be a good fit, and decide afterwards whether to book. If a particular therapist already sounds right, name them and we will check their availability. Sessions start at $150 an hour and insurance is accepted.