You're not broken. You're stuck. There's a difference.

Anxiety that won't quiet down. Memories that show up uninvited. A nervous system that never quite got the memo that the danger has passed. The way trauma and anxiety burrow into everyday life, into your sleep, your relationships, your ability to be present in your own body, can make it feel like this is just who you are now.

It isn't. And you don't have to white-knuckle your way through it forever.

There are treatments for anxiety and trauma that actually work. Not "work" in the sense of taking the edge off or giving you tools to manage symptoms indefinitely. Work in the sense of getting to the root of what's happening and changing it. That's what evidence-based therapy is, and it's the foundation of how I practice.

What "Evidence-Based" Actually Means

You've probably heard the term before. Evidence-based treatment simply means that a therapy approach has been rigorously studied in clinical research and shown to produce real, measurable results for real people. These aren't theories or trends. They are treatments that have been tested, refined, and validated over decades of research.

This matters because not all therapy is created equal. Talking about your problems can be valuable, and the relationship between therapist and client is genuinely important, but for anxiety and trauma in particular, the research is clear that specific structured approaches produce significantly better outcomes than supportive conversation alone. You deserve a therapist who knows the difference and knows how to deliver the real thing.

Dr. Montgomery has extensive training in the leading evidence-based treatments for anxiety and trauma, and brings both clinical precision and genuine warmth to every one of them.

Understanding Anxiety

Anxiety is your brain's alarm system doing its job, just doing it too enthusiastically, too often, or in response to things that aren't actually dangerous. It was probably useful at some point. Your nervous system learned to be on guard, and it got very good at it. The problem is that it hasn't learned when to stand down.

Anxiety shows up differently for different people. For some it's constant low-level worry that never fully turns off. For others it's panic that comes out of nowhere and feels like a physical emergency. For others still it's the relentless loop of intrusive thoughts, the compulsive need to check or control, or the elaborate ways you've restructured your life to avoid the things that trigger fear. However it shows up for you, it is exhausting. And it is treatable.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is one of the most well-researched therapies in existence. At its core, it works by helping you identify the thoughts, beliefs, and patterns of behavior that fuel anxiety and learn to change them. This isn't about positive thinking or telling yourself everything is fine. It's about developing a more accurate, flexible relationship with your own mind, one where your thoughts are something you can examine rather than something that runs the show.

CBT is practical and skill-focused. You will leave sessions with tools you can actually use. It works well for generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic, and a wide range of other concerns.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT takes a slightly different angle. Rather than focusing primarily on changing anxious thoughts, ACT helps you change your relationship to them. The goal is not to eliminate anxiety, which is both impossible and unnecessary, but to stop letting it make decisions for you. ACT helps you identify what actually matters to you and build a life organized around your values rather than around avoiding discomfort.

For high achievers especially, ACT can be transformative. It addresses the perfectionism, the overcontrol, and the fear of failure that often live underneath the surface of anxiety, and helps you move toward a life that feels genuinely meaningful rather than just strategically safe.

Understanding Trauma

Trauma is what happens when an experience exceeds your nervous system's capacity to process it. It doesn't have to be a single dramatic event. Trauma can be the accumulation of smaller wounds, chronic stress, emotional neglect, or the experience of moving through a world that was consistently unsafe or unwelcoming. What makes something traumatic is not the event itself but what it does to you, how it gets lodged in your body and brain in ways that keep affecting you long after it's over.

PTSD is one of the most common and most misunderstood consequences of trauma. It is not a sign of weakness or an inability to cope. It is a recognizable set of symptoms that develop when the brain's normal processing of a difficult experience gets stuck. The good news is that PTSD is among the most treatable of all mental health conditions, when treated with the right approaches.

Dr. Montgomery offers three gold-standard, VA-approved treatments for PTSD and trauma, and works collaboratively with each client to determine which approach is the best fit for their history, goals, and preferences.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

CPT is a structured, twelve session treatment developed specifically for PTSD. It works by helping you identify and examine the ways that trauma has shaped your beliefs about yourself, other people, and the world. Trauma has a way of distorting how we see things. CPT helps you gently but directly challenge those distortions and develop a more balanced, accurate understanding of what happened and what it means about you.

CPT is particularly effective for people whose trauma has led to significant guilt, shame, or self-blame. It doesn't require you to describe your trauma in graphic detail, which makes it a good fit for people who are concerned about being retraumatized in the process of healing.

Prolonged Exposure (PE)

PE is another gold-standard treatment for PTSD, grounded in the well-established principle that avoidance keeps trauma alive. When we avoid the memories, people, places, or situations associated with trauma, we inadvertently signal to our nervous system that they are still dangerous. PE works by helping you gradually and systematically approach what you've been avoiding, in a safe and supported way, so that your brain can finally learn that the threat has passed.

PE involves revisiting the traumatic memory in session in a structured, controlled way. This can feel daunting, and it requires courage. It also produces some of the most significant and lasting relief of any trauma treatment available. Dr. Montgomery will prepare you carefully and walk with you through every step of the process.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

EMDR utilizes bilateral stimulation, typically side to side eye movements or tapping, to help you remain regulated while the brain reprocess traumatic memories that have gotten stuck.

The theory is that traumatic memories are stored differently than ordinary memories. They retain the emotional and physical charge of the original experience in a way that makes them feel present even when they are not. EMDR helps the brain do what it would have done naturally if it hadn't been overwhelmed, process the experience so that it can be stored as something that happened in the past rather than something that is still happening now.

Understanding OCD

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is one of the most misrepresented conditions in popular culture and one of the most distressing to actually live with. OCD is not about being neat or liking things a certain way. It is a cycle of intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, or urges (obsessions) that generate intense anxiety, followed by behaviors or mental rituals (compulsions) performed to relieve that anxiety temporarily. The relief is real but short-lived, and the cycle begins again, often growing stronger over time.

OCD shows up in many forms. It can involve fears about contamination, harm, religion or morality, sexuality, relationships, or the need for things to feel "just right." It can be loud and visible or entirely internal. What all forms share is the relentless loop and the way it quietly takes over more and more of your life.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

ERP is the gold standard treatment for OCD, with decades of research supporting its effectiveness. It works by gradually exposing you to the thoughts, situations, or triggers that provoke obsessive anxiety while supporting you in resisting the compulsive response. Over time, your brain learns that the anxiety will pass on its own without the compulsion, and the power of the obsessive cycle begins to loosen.

ERP is not about white-knuckling through fear. It is a carefully structured, collaborative process that Dr. Montgomery will guide you through at a pace that is challenging but manageable. The goal is not to eliminate all discomfort but to help you reclaim your life from the loop that has been running it.

Why Training Matters

There is an important distinction between a therapist who is familiar with these treatments and one who has received specialized, supervised training in delivering them. These are not approaches you can learn from a book or a weekend workshop. CPT, PE, EMDR, and ERP each require extensive training, supervised practice, and ongoing consultation to deliver with fidelity and effectiveness.

Dr. Montgomery has received that training. She brings not only the technical precision these approaches require but the relational depth and clinical judgment to know which tool fits which moment, and when to set the protocol aside and simply be present with you. Evidence-based therapy and genuine human connection are not in competition with each other. In Dr. Montgomery's practice, they work together.

You've Already Done the Hard Part.

Recognizing that something is wrong and deciding you want help takes more courage than most people give themselves credit for. The path forward is real, it is well-mapped, and you do not have to walk it alone.

If you're ready to talk about what you're carrying and whether one of these approaches might be right for you, reach out. That's where we start.