About Kristin Mervich
Kristin Mervich, LCSW, Owner & Clinical Director
Pronouns: She/hers
SPECIALITY AREAS:
ALL FORMS OF ANXIETY + OCD
Hich achieving women who struggle with perfectionism
parents of children with anxiety and ocd needing support from a therapist who gets it
AGES: CHILDREN 6+, ADOLESCENTS, YOUNG ADULTS, ADULTS
DIRECT PHONE: 872.333.9282
DIRECT EMAIL: KRISTIN@OUTSMARTINGOCD.COM
I explain my approach, credentials, and work experience below, but you may want to know a little about who I am as a person as well. I believe in behavior. We have to change something to feel something different. I believe in taking chances in life with the conviction that things will work out with a good mindset and hard work.
If you ponder on your most valued memories in life, chances are you took a risk in those scenarios. The time you introduced yourself to your best friend or your partner, the time you interviewed for your job you love, the time you traveled to a foreign country, the time you presented your artwork to class, the time you first tried your favorite dish at a restaurant, the times you sung aloud in the car with your friends for the first time. Every one of those moments, you took a risk…of rejection, uncertainty, shame, disapproval.
Pain, doubt, and uncertainty are unavoidable in life. And what I am often told by my clients is that avoiding the pain, doubt, and uncertainty is better than feeling disappointed. Truthfully, that technique only works for so long. I want you to feel alive and empowered to be YOU, without the agonizing worry attached.
Anxiety always circles back to uncertainty. OCD is known as the doubting disease. I believe that living your best life most always includes learning how to handle uncertainty and doubt. This is what connects me to my love of helping those with anxiety and OCD. One of my favorite sayings is, “A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” So I want to help you learn how to listen to YOU instead of your anxiety or OCD. I am not saying it is easy work; I am saying it is worth it.
What drew me to practice CBT, ERP, and ACT? I was originally inspired by a team of anxiety and OCD therapists I learned from while still in school. I remember the clients I first worked with in internship. OCD had left them feeling hopeless, and it affected the entire family. The intrusive thoughts left my clients feeling paralyzed, and hours a day were lost to OCD rituals. I remember their personal struggles when they entered treatment, and I remember their smiles when they were done with treatment. I received an update about a year later that someone had gotten to really enjoy a summer trip overseas when just a year before, it took hours to leave the house each morning. Once I saw just one transformation, I was hooked.
I’m a LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), licensed in both Arizona and Illinois, with my Masters in Social Work from the University of Illinois. I completed my anxiety and OCD training in a well-known behavioral health hospital in Illinois that has a reputation for being able to change lives from all over the country, Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in the Center for Anxiety and OCD. I’ve run and worked in full day programs, half day programs, and hourly sessions that specialize in anxiety and OCD, so I have a thorough understanding of how much treatment it may take for someone to feel better and in control.