Jessica Michaels-Erickson, ASW

OCD, Anxiety, and Maternal Mental Health Therapist in Sacramento, CA

and virtually throughout California

Registered Associate Clinical Social Worker #133309, Supervised by Heather Brown, LCSW #114639

Schedule a free 20-minute consult

I work with:

Preteens and teens

College students

Adults

Moms in all stages of motherhood, including pregnancy and postpartum

Experiencing:

    • Obsessions (sometimes referred to as intrusive thoughts) that are unwanted, distressing, and hard to stop thinking about

    • Compulsions, or repetitive behaviors (including mental behaviors such as ruminating or mental reviewing the facts of a situation) that make the obsessions go away temporarily

    Read more about OCD and our approach to OCD therapy here

    • Persistent worry about a variety of topics, or one specific topic that causes emotional distress to think about

    • Avoidance of people, places, or things that spike your anxiety

    • Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and anxiety related to your identity, sexuality, or orientation

    Read more about anxiety and our approach to anxiety therapy here

    • Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), including perinatal anxiety, perinatal depression, and perinatal OCD

    • Identity shifts throughout motherhood and impact on your self-esteem, especially the process of first becoming a mother (matrescence)

    • Challenges to your relationship after birth, including conflict resolution, communication skills, and how to navigate the “roommate“ phase

    Read more about our approach to perinatal mental health care here.

    • Feeling like you need to be your “best self” at all times, which leads to self-criticism and burnout

    • Needing to meet extremely high standards, including those you put on yourself

    • Attaching your self-worth to your grades, work, productivity, or appearance

    • Frequently comparing yourself to others, “imposter syndrome,“ or a tendency to discount your accomplishments

Who want to:

  • Stop overthinking and second-guessing every decision

  • Learn how to stop ruminating, quiet your mind, and actually be able to relax when you want to

  • Feel confident in your identity at any stage or season of life

  • Let go of the endless, looping ‘what ifs‘ that keep you up at night

  • Stand up for yourself and ask for what you need in your relationships with your family, friends, and partner

Sessions with me include:

  • A space to share anything and everything that’s on your mind, including the things you’re too embarrassed, ashamed, or scared to share elsewhere

  • Realistic, research-backed tools you can start putting to use right after the session is over, to start feeling better, faster

  • A compassionate but goal-oriented approach to overcoming anxiety, OCD, self-doubt, and identify shifts

  • Insight into how previous life experiences are affecting current patterns, so you’re finally breaking the unhelpful cycles you’ve been caught in for years

“Together, we'll focus on easing what feels heavy, building resilience, and helping you live in a way that feels true to yourself.”

I offer the following types of therapy to help you achieve your goals:

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP): The gold standard of therapy for OCD. Helps you break the cycle of OCD so you have fewer intrusive thoughts and can stop engaging in compulsions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Realistic strategies to help you cope with all life’s complexities - both good and bad - by increasing your emotional resilience and teaching you how to live in accordance with your values

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Helps you understand the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and actions

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): Practical skills to manage intense emotions, cope with stress, improve your relationships, and stay grounded in the present moment

Education and training:

Master of Social Work (MSW) from Arizona State University

    • Exposure and Ritual (Response) Prevention for OCD through National Association of Social Workers

    • Exposure and Response Prevention for Scrupulosity, Harm OCD, Social Anxiety, and Agoraphobia through The Knowledge Tree

    • Changing the OCD Mindset, Rapidly through The Knowledge Tree

    • OCD Subtypes: Creative Treatment Strategies Using ERP through The Knowledge Tree

    • Navigating Client Resistance in ERP Treatment for OCD through The Knowledge Tree

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy training

    • Components of Care 2-day training from Postpartum Support International

    • Advanced Perinatal OCD training from Postpartum Support International

    I am in the process of completing the requirements to become a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional

FAQs:

  • At the moment I am only offering virtual sessions. I have flexibility in scheduling and offer daytime and evening appointments.

  • My rate is $150 for a standard 50-minute session

  • I accept all debit and credit cards, as well as HSA and FSA cards.

    I am not in network with any insurance plans, but if you have a PPO plan, I can provide superbills help you redeem your out-of-network benefits, which can help keep therapy affordable.

    Schedule a free 20-minute consultation call here for more information.

Schedule a free 20-minute consultation