Anxiety & OCD Treatment: Amanda Petrik-Gardner, LCPC

11/17/2025

Skin picking disorder is so much more than a “bad habit” — it’s a real mental health condition that affects many people. Resulting in bleeding, scarring or infections.

Many who struggle feel shame, hide their skin, and avoid life. Picking can be automatic or focused or both. It can feel soothing and a way to manage overwhelming tension, which makes it incredibly hard to stop without support. It can also occur when relaxed or bored!

The good news is that effective treatments exist. If you or someone you love deals with this, you are absolutely not alone.

11/17/2025

Join us at this presentation, welcome to all (clients, family and providers), to learn about anxiety sensitivity! What is anxiety sensitivity? Well it is anxiety about anxiety. Or more specifically, when we fear the physical and psychological responses of anxiety. (Think of when someone fears a racing heart from anxiety because they believe it will cause a heart attack). Anxiety sensitivity is an underlying factor often seen in panic, health anxiety, trauma, and other diagnoses which must be assessed for in order to be properly treated. If missed, the disorder will be maintained.
Register here! This is not a CE event.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/anxiety-sensitivity-tickets-1693583266139?aff=oddtdtcreatorrot

11/13/2025

🧠 I recently provided a presentation on Metacognitive Therapy for anxiety/depression to our local hospital/agencies to 100+ therapists. MCT emphasizes HOW we think over WHAT we think. The thought itself isn’t the problem…it’s our beliefs about what we need to do with the thoughts.

🧠 Here I am providing some examples about ‘worry’ but these same metacognitive beliefs can be applied to rumination or thought suppression or avoidance or threat monitoring. Do you find worry helpful? Do you think it keeps you safe? Does it help you plan? Or do you find it uncontrollable? Do you think it’s harmful? Or a combo of both?

🧠 MCT addresses these beliefs which drive how we think (worry, rumination, thought suppression, etc) instead of targeting the surface level thoughts themselves.

🧠 What questions do you have about MCT and I’ll discuss it more in the future!

11/05/2025

More spots made available:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/myths-mistakes-misconceptions-and-misinformation-about-i-cbt-tickets-1849426316899?aff=oddtdtcreator

11/05/2025

A few more days to register!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/3rd-annual-ocd-kansas-conference-2025-virtual-event-tickets-1508277301009?aff=oddtdtcreator

10/28/2025

In my theories textbook/reading for class this week, I came across this excerpt.

This story demonstrated the idea of mindfulness and I wanted to pass it on for those it might help.

Just because you have a thought, doesn’t mean you have to ‘pick’ it up. 🪨

10/27/2025

Join this educational workshop, available to everyone! Clients, providers, loved ones…
Participants will learn about Perinatal OCD, the common obsessions and compulsions of this subtype, and the recommended treatment protocols.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/perinatal-ocd-how-to-treat-it-tickets-1612312422859

10/27/2025

Reminder of this upcoming event hosted by OCD Kansas (state affiliate of the International OCD Foundation):

Our annual conference! Held online for all to attend. Perfect for clients and loved ones to better understand OCD, get their questions answered and build their community. Great for providers to improve their knowledge on this misunderstood disorder.

Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/3rd-annual-ocd-kansas-conference-2025-virtual-event-tickets-1508277301009?aff=oddtdtcreator

10/24/2025

If you spot patterns where your obsessions/compulsions worsen with hormones…track it! Talk to your provider. There may be biological factors at play and it is common.

🧬 For some women, their OCD worsens the days before their period when estrogen and progesterone drop.

🧬 During pregnancy, postpartum and menopause, there are huge hormone shifts, and this can impact OCD.

Hormonal changes can make OCD symptoms worse and you are not alone!

10/18/2025

10/16/2025

🎉 OCD Awareness Week continues 🎉

What else do I want the OCD community to know?
That multiple evidence-based treatments are available that work! They lead you to the same goal…recovery! Just through different treatment paths. So you have to find what works for you.

Ask your provider about different treatment options to find which you connect with better.

10/14/2025

OCD Awareness Week continues y’all!! 🎉

Here are the top things I want everyone in the community to know 📝