SCIENCEWORKS
BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE

Dr. Kiesa Kelly
(she/her)

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) torments gentle, fun, loving people with the ironic belief that they may be a monster. What if I'm dangerous? Immoral? Contaminated? Living in a simulation? A different gender/sexual orientation than I think? What if things aren't just right or I have a terrible illness? Compulsively avoiding feared outcomes becomes life-consuming. Scary, taboo themes are common. It's OCD, not you. I see you. There is no reason to hide in shame; I already know you are good. You will, too. OCD is painful, but treatable with Inference-based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT), Exposure Response Prevention (ERP), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

ERP (in combination with ACT) is the fast-working and effective but sometimes intimidating gold standard for treating OCD. It doesn't work for everyone and for some folks it is too threatening to try. I am among a small yet growing group of therapists in the US additionally trained in Inference-based CBT--a more cognitive, less intimidating, and equally effective ERP alternative.

Autistic and ADHD neurotypes often occur with each other, as well as with OCD. I-CBT may be preferrable to ERP for neurodivergent individuals because of its emphasis on demystifying the faulty thinking driving OCD, rather than forcing folks to tolerate a behavioral intervention.

Trauma/Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are often present in folks with OCD. My preferred approach for treating trauma is Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), which provides evidence-based treatment with minimal talk and no homework. 

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Insomnia, difficulty falling and/or staying asleep can be treated in as few as 6 sessions of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). CBT-I is the most effective treatment in all of behavioral health. Insomnia occurs more frequently in folks with OCD and sometimes OCD doubts focus on sleep and insomnia.

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​ScienceWorks is guided by three tenants:

• Evidence-based therapies work.

ScienceWorks Behavioral Healthcare defines itself by its strong, ethical commitment to providing therapies that have been demonstrated through research to be effective. While we use a variety of evidenced-based approaches, across all of these we employ measurement-based care (MBC). This means that we measure your symptoms throughout therapy to customize your treatment plan, monitor changes across time, and adjust strategies accordingly in order to maximize your outcomes. 

• Physical and mental health are interconnected.

In addition to evidence-based psychotherapies, research shows that some of the most effective treatments for anxiety and depression focus on the interconnection between the physical body and mental health, or the mind-body connection. ScienceWorks is designed to provide clients with the option to augment their therapy by integrating these additional approaches, including partnering with prescribing providers to assist with medication management; walking; nutrition education; insomnia treatment; and mindfulness and meditation.

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• Neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, and culturally humble and affirming care is essential.

Research determining the effectiveness of therapy has largely been tested on white, cis, heterosexual, neurotypical Americans. In my experience, every client is unique and benefits optimally from custom adaptations of scientifically-supported interventions. I approach each client as an individual with a brain, body, and cultural identity about which they are the expert. Part of our process working together is to explore components of your unique experience so we develop a treatment that is best-suited for you.

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​ScienceWorks recognizes that racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of oppression can negatively impact health and can complicate one's experience with OCD and related-disorders. Some Black and Latino men may feel particularly apprehensive about disclosing harm thoughts to a therapist in fear of being misperceived as dangerous. It is critical to the therapeutic process that clients feel safe opening up about these and other lived experiences with their therapist. We welcome everyone.

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Specialty Areas

Individual Adult Therapy for:

• Obsessive -Compulsive Disorder

• Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs): skin-picking, hair-pulling

• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Insomnia (CBT-I)

• Autism

• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Professional Memberships

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