Charlotte Park

Hello! My name is Charlotte, and I am a counselor at Dayspring Behavioral Health. I’m passionate about working with children, adolescents, and young adults (ages 7-25) navigating anxiety, OCD, life transitions, self-esteem, communication, relationships, and identity concerns. I’ve also received specialized training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD and anxiety disorders. I earned my master’s degree in Applied Child & Adolescent Psychology from the University of Washington. My clinical experience consists of working with children with ASD in behavioral health settings, alongside providing individual therapy to adolescents and young adults at an OCD and anxiety specialty clinic.

Clinical Focuses

OCD and Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal response to stress and uncertainty, but it can become challenging when worries and fears interfere with our everyday lives, and lead us to avoid situations that are uncomfortable or threatening. I draw from CBT to help clients understand how their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors influence one another, identify patterns that maintain anxiety, and develop more balanced ways of thinking and understanding. 

For OCD, I use Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) alongside CBT. I work with clients to better understand their individual OCD cycles, including the obsessions (intrusive thoughts, images, or urges), compulsions (behaviors or mental rituals in response to the obsessions), triggering stimuli, and avoidance behaviors. Together, we will develop an individualized exposure hierarchy for the OCD fear and practice approaching feared thoughts, situations, and uncertainty while reducing compulsive behaviors. This helps our brain learn that the distress associated with the fear naturally fades, and that the feared outcome may not happen.

When working with anxiety and OCD, I take time to understand the client’s concerns, alongside the broader context of their background and experiences. 

Social Concerns & Communication

Relationships with family, friends, peers, and others play a strong role in our well-being, how we understand ourselves, and our sense of belonging. I enjoy helping clients explore interpersonal challenges and patterns that influence how they connect with others, including anxiety and uncertainty in social situations. I utilize CBT to help clients recognize patterns of thinking and behavior that contribute to these challenges, and from ACT to help clients take steps towards the kinds of relationships and connections that matter most to them.

Identity, Self-Esteem, and Life Transitions: 

As a second-generation Asian American, my own experiences navigating culture, identity, and belonging have contributed to my interest in helping clients navigate these areas in their own lives. Culture, family expectations, communities, social relationships, and life experiences all influence the way we understand ourselves and where we feel we belong. I enjoy helping clients explore questions about who they are and how their experiences have shaped them, particularly during periods of transition and uncertainty. I incorporate ACT to help clients clarify their values and strengths, and identify meaningful actions in their lives even when difficult thoughts and emotions are present.

More About Your Modality

In my clinical work, I primarily draw from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), paired with psychoeducation to help clients better understand their experiences and develop practical strategies to address these challenges. 

CBT focuses on the connections between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and developing more helpful ways of thinking and responding. ACT involves helping clients clarify their values, accepting difficult emotions, and committing to actions that are aligned with their core values even when discomfort is present. ERP involves gradually approaching fears and situations that generate anxiety, while resisting the urge to perform compulsive rituals or avoidance behaviors afterwards, to weaken the OCD cycle and tolerate distress and uncertainty related to the fear.

I approach counseling with curiosity, collaboration, and cultural humility. I believe that it’s important to look beyond the concerns that bring one to therapy and consider the individual experiences, relationships, family, culture, and environment that shape who they are, while recognizing the strengths and resources they already possess. I place a strong emphasis on building rapport and developing a therapeutic relationship where clients feel respected, understood, and empowered. From this foundation, I work collaboratively with clients as they actively work towards their goals.

About Me

When I’m not working, I enjoy drawing, listening to various genres of music, spending time with loved ones, going on walks, cooking, and exercising. Art has always been a meaningful creative outlet for me, and is something I always enjoy coming back to when I have time to myself.