Mixi Lopez-Corbin, LICSW

Specializations

  • When suffering with OCD, you experience recurrent and unwanted intrusive thoughts (“obsessions”). OCD often latches on to the things that are most important to you and causes you to engage in behaviors to find relief from distress.

    Your mind tries to “figure it out.”

    While these compulsions may provide temporary relief, they ultimately perpetuate the cycle of OCD, making it more entrenched. Getting “stuck” in the cycle has a significant cost to your time and emotional health. It often leads to experiencing feelings of shame and guilt, further isolating you from the world.

    OCD blocks you from embracing life.

    The most effective modality in treating OCD is Exposure Response Prevention (ERP). ERP aims at developing your awareness of the OCD cycle, resisting engagement in compulsions, increasing your distress tolerance, and guiding you towards regaining control of your life. When we work together, I will adapt ERP to your needs and incorporate other modalities necessary to accomplish these goals.

  • Traumatic events often lead to a mix of strong feelings, including stress, anger, and sadness. These feelings can be confusing, because they can occur suddenly, intensely, and concurrently. When symptoms don’t fade over time and they start to interfere with everyday life, trauma becomes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

    Individuals with PTSD try to avoid thoughts and feelings associated with the event; they also avoid situations, activities, and/or places that remind them of the trauma. Avoidance is a survival response to protect ourselves. However, this leads to the “overflowing fridge” scenario. Avoidance is like ignoring leftovers in our fridge, while we add new groceries. If you ignore the leftovers, you run out of space for new experiences and feelings (“fresh groceries”). Eventually, the fridge doesn’t have any room. While avoidance can make us comfortable in the moment, it ends up making the problem worse in the long term.

    Avoidance is a strong survival response, but it blocks you from embracing life.

    Prolonged Exposure Therapy is an evidence-based treatment effective for treating trauma and PTSD. The treatment involves gradually revisiting the traumatic memory to emotionally process the experience. When we repeatedly confront the memories together, the fear and distress gradually decreases. This doesn’t mean that the traumatic experience goes away, but its a start to creating space for healing, recovery, and more room for new life experiences. When we work together, I will adapt Prolonged Exposure therapy according to your needs and personal experiences.

  • When we feel threatened, our survival mechanism triggers the "fight or flight" response to keep us safe. This anticipation of danger, or anxiety, is a normal and sometimes helpful response to stress. The challenge is that our brain can misinterpret situations, and anxiety can become excessive and debilitating. Even in the absence of actual danger, our brain and body may still react to any heightened emotion as if there is a threat. Individuals suffering from anxiety may notice persistent overthinking, worrying, restlessness, avoidance of situations, and/or physical symptoms of anxiety.

    Our minds try to figure out how to survive threats, but the level of response doesn’t always match the level of threat.

    Anxiety is complicated. My therapeutic approach to addressing anxiety and related conditions - including Panic, Phobias, Social Anxiety, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder - draws from a blend of effective treatment modalities. Exposure Response Prevention (ERP), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) have shown significant results in treating anxiety and related conditions. When we work together, I will adapt my treatment based on your needs.

    Treatment aims to reduce your anxiety and create space for all your emotions, while staying in the present to embrace life.

  • We all experience change. Life transitions often include a shift from something familiar or the loss of something or someone significant. They can be planned or unexpected, positive or negative, and often bring about feelings of uncertainty and disruption. These transitions require finding new coping mechanisms as they can stir up a range of emotions. When going through life transitions, you may experience depression, stress, and/or worry.

    It can be difficult to embrace life through change and uncertainty.

    My treatment for life transitions aims to support you in enhancing self-confidence and self-compassion and acquiring skills to manage change. My therapeutic approach includes Behavioral Activation (BA), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to assist in navigating the complex emotions and challenges from life transitions.

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Embracing life, one day at a time

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About Mixi

I am a bilingual (Spanish/English) licensed therapist and I obtained my Masters in Social Work from Boston College. I have completed advanced training in the treatment of anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD and Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs), such as Trichotillomania and Excoriation.

I have provided mental health support to adults and teens for over 10 years in a variety of settings prior to going into private practice. I am able to address co-occurring mental health concerns in therapy, such as perfectionism, depression, and ADHD.

I was born in Peru and have lived in four different states since moving to the US. As an immigrant, I understand the struggle of navigating an unfamiliar environment, learning a new language, and adapting to a new set of expectations.

Therapy Style

My goal is not simply to provide temporary fixes, but to work together with you to ensure that your investment in yourself leads to long-lasting progress.

I believe that the relationship you have with your therapist is one of the most important components of therapy. My clients describe me as someone who is honest, direct, and who knows when to challenge them.

It’s important for me to create a non-judgmental, safe space. You are the expert in you - I’m here to provide you the skills and tools that best match your needs.

I’m as invested in your growth and progress as you are and I would feel honored to work with you!

Meet Norman, my co-worker :)

Therapy Process

Step 1:

Schedule an Intro Call

This is intended to be a pre-session to explore your needs and how I can support you. We can discuss reasons for coming to therapy, expectations, and any questions you have.

Step 2:

Portal and Forms

Once you schedule an intake session, I will send you an email invitation to the client portal. You will need to access the portal to complete all the intake forms. Intake forms must be completed 24 hours before your first appointment. 

Step 3:

Intake Session

During your intake session, I will conduct a detailed assessment of your symptoms, learn more about you, and what you're hoping to get out of therapy. We will briefly review intake forms, practice policies, confidentiality, as well as information regarding the therapy process. 

Step 4:

Start Your Journey

We will start by meeting weekly. During our first few sessions, we will create a therapy plan that meets your needs. As therapy unfolds, you will gain a deeper understanding of your symptoms, develop skills and obtain tools to help you be more present in your life.