Anxiety & OCD Treatment in Colorado
Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy for Anxiety and OCD
Evidence-Based Care for Anxiety and OCD That Doesn’t Respond to Traditional Therapy
Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can feel relentless – especially when standard approaches such as therapy, medication, or exposure-based work have not provided lasting relief. Many individuals continue to struggle despite years of treatment, feeling stuck in patterns of fear, avoidance, or compulsive behavior.
Our Colorado-based practice specializes in anxiety and OCD treatment, including treatment-resistant presentations, through an integrative model that combines gold-standard behavioral therapies with legally supported psilocybin-assisted therapy under Colorado law. This approach is designed for individuals seeking deeper, more durable change – not quick fixes.
Why Exposure Therapy Alone Isn’t Always Enough
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is widely recognized as the gold-standard treatment for anxiety disorders and OCD. When delivered skillfully, ERP helps retrain the brain by reducing avoidance and compulsive behaviors.
However, ERP alone may feel limited or insufficient for individuals with:
- Long-standing or complex anxiety patterns
- Trauma histories or high emotional reactivity
- Strong internal resistance, fear, or self-criticism
- A sense that something deeper is driving the anxiety
In these cases, exposure can feel mechanical, exhausting, or even invalidating if the internal system behind the symptoms isn’t addressed.
That’s where IFS, psilocybin and integration matters.
An Integrative Model for Anxiety and OCD Treatment
Our approach is a highly intentional, individualized process designed to address anxiety at its behavioral, emotional, and nervous-system roots.
By integrating:
- Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for behavioral change
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for psychological flexibility
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) for unburdening, internal harmonization and deep trauma/emotional processing
- Psilocybin-assisted therapy for experiential depth and access to normally unaccessible material
We support clients in completing – not avoiding – the healing process.
Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy as a Form of Internal Exposure
While ERP works with both external and internal triggers, many of the most persistent drivers of anxiety and OCD are carried by internal parts – protective emotional systems shaped by past experiences, beliefs, and conditioned fear responses.
In a therapeutic context, psilocybin-assisted therapy may support imaginal and emotional exposure by increasing access to the internal system. Within supported sessions, individuals may become aware of internal parts and experiences such as:
- Parts carrying long-avoided emotions, including fear, shame, grief, or vulnerability
- Belief-holding parts organized around safety, control, responsibility, or self-worth
- Memories or relational experiences that shaped the development of anxious or obsessive strategies
- Protective parts associated with hypervigilance, perfectionism, or compulsive urges
Rather than attempting to suppress or bypass these experiences, the therapeutic process emphasizes Self-led presence, curiosity, and compassion. These conditions allow internal parts to be approached rather than avoided, creating the openness and emotional engagement necessary for meaningful exposure and nervous-system learning.
Reducing Defensive Patterns That Maintain Anxiety
From both a neuroscience and an Internal Family Systems (IFS) perspective, anxiety is often maintained by rigid self-protective patterns designed to prevent emotional overwhelm. At the brain level, these patterns are commonly associated with activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN), which supports habitual thinking, self-monitoring, and avoidance strategies.
When the DMN is overly dominant, individuals may experience persistent rumination, intellectualization, emotional distancing, or compulsive attempts to control internal experience. While these strategies are protective, they can also prevent the nervous system from fully processing fear and updating its expectations.
Research suggests that psilocybin may temporarily reduce rigid DMN dominance, increasing psychological flexibility and emotional access. In this state, individuals are often better able to:
- Remain present with anxiety without immediately engaging in compulsive or avoidant responses
- Observe fear and discomfort without suppression, dissociation, or overwhelm
- Stay emotionally engaged from a more grounded, regulated internal state
This shift creates an optimal environment for exposure-based learning – not by removing fear, but by allowing feared experiences to be met with presence rather than defense.
Internal Family Systems (IFS): Working With Anxiety From Self
Internal Family Systems (IFS) provides the therapeutic framework for working skillfully with what emerges during this deeper exposure process. From an IFS perspective, anxiety and compulsive behaviors are not symptoms to eliminate, but protective parts that developed in response to past experiences in order to keep the system safe.
Rather than challenging or overriding these parts, IFS focuses on helping individuals access a state of Self – characterized by calm, curiosity, compassion, and clarity. From this Self-led state, clients may be able to:
- Approach anxious or obsessive parts without judgment
- Understand what those parts fear would happen without their strategies
- Help parts release outdated beliefs and emotional burdens
- Support corrective emotional experiences such as reassurance, protection, or reparenting
- Allow the nervous system to update and reorganize
When protective parts feel seen, understood, and no longer alone, they often soften naturally. This allows anxiety patterns to shift without force, and exposure becomes an experience of connection and integration rather than endurance.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Anxiety and OCD
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) further strengthens this work by helping individuals relate differently to anxiety, thoughts, and internal sensations – both during therapy and in daily life.
ACT supports the development of skills that allow clients to remain open and engaged with internal experience, including:
- Willingness to experience anxiety without attempts to control or suppress it
- Cognitive defusion from obsessive, catastrophic, or self-critical thoughts
- Mindful awareness of emotional and bodily states
- Reorientation toward values-based living rather than fear-driven behavior
Together with ERP and IFS, ACT helps individuals change their relationship with anxiety, reducing the need for compulsions and avoidance over time.
An Integrated Path Toward Lasting Change
By integrating the behavioral structure of ERP, the psychological flexibility of ACT, the relational depth of IFS, and the experiential access supported by psilocybin-assisted therapy, we help clients move through – not around – the experiences that maintain anxiety and OCD.
The aim is not simply symptom reduction, but lasting internal change: increased resilience, greater emotional freedom, and a restored sense of self-trust and agency.
Explore our frequently asked questions or reach out through our secure contact form to learn more. Together, we’ll determine whether psilocybin-assisted therapy may represent a meaningful next step in your healing journey.