Christina DiChiara, PsyD
POSITION
Director of Education & Staff Psychologist
EDUCATION
PsyD in Clinical Health Psychology, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
OCD, Panic Attacks, Social Anxiety, Health Anxiety, Anxiety & Worry, Phobias, Post-Traumatic Stress, Complex Trauma & Sexual Trauma, Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, Body Dysmorphia, Veterans & First Responders, Kids & Teens
SPECIALTIES
I am passionate about innovative, research-based therapy to relieve suffering and help people live the lives they want to be living. My intensive training, research experience, and clinical work over the past two decades has been focused on helping people recover from serious trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorders. With me, it's depth, not breadth.
If you are ready to work, ready to start changing the thoughts and habits that might be holding you back, then I am here to dive in with you. And if you’re not totally ready, let’s see if we can get you there together. My favorite part about cognitive and behavioral therapies, especially exposure therapies, is that we get to work actively together. We won’t just sit back and talk about your problems for months on end - who has the time or money for that? We’re going to DO something about what is causing you suffering, and we will do it as a team every step of the way. My therapy style always derives from clinical best practices, but my approach is all heart. I treat my patients and their families the way I want my loved ones to be treated. I have the experience and expertise to tailor the most effective treatments to each unique person - YOU!
MY APPROACH
Expert in Cognitive Behavior Therapies (CBT) for anxiety disorders, trauma/PTSD, and OCD.
More than a decade of experience training, supervising, and providing consultation to other mental health providers in effective treatments for PTSD and OCD.
Previous experience as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Staff Psychologist at UPenn’s Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, and as a Psychologist on the PTSD Clinical Team at the Cpl. Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia.
Previous experience as the Military Sexual Trauma Coordinator, Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Coordinator, and Telemental Health Coordinator at the VA in Philadelphia.
Certified Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapist and supervisor
Certified Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) Provider
Co-investigator on ongoing research about PTSD and memory functioning
MY EXPERIENCE
Therapy can be scary - change is scary, facing your fears is scary! AND, we can learn to be brave and scared at the same time. You might not believe it yet, but I believe that you can do hard things.