Director of Training and Development
As Director of Training and Development, Erin has worked to develop the following training opportunities offered at The Center for OCD and Anxiety.
Internship Program: Erin is the head of COA’s internship program where she acts as a supervisor to 1-2 master level interns per academic year. The internship program is designed to assist interns in becoming competent OCD/ERP clinicians through both direct and indirect clinical opportunities. Clinical opportunities include: weekly supervision/training, 1-10 session observations per week, ability to lead sessions (while Erin offers support and guidance via observation), and ability to assist in leading COA’s treatment groups.
Treatment Groups: Groups are intended to help build an important OCD and ERP psychoeducational foundation and help patients understand and manage their symptoms. Groups are composed of 5-6 patients within the same age range to help enhance comfortability and community. Groups are co-led by Erin and a Center for OCD and Anxiety intern.
New Hires and Out of Agency Consultations: Erin has developed an on-boarding curriculum where she helps new OCD therapists hone their abilities to provide thorough, comprehensive and skilled ERP treatment as they join the COA team. She also manages out of agency consultation/trainings requests for clinicians looking for more direction regarding their OCD/anxiety related cases. If you are looking for any further information regarding the opportunities above, please contact Erin Harding at erin@pittsburghocdtreatment.com.
Erin’s Clinical Approach
Erin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and other anxiety related disorders. Throughout her Psychology undergraduate degree, Erin quickly developed a passion for working with patients with anxiety, specifically the pediatric population. She also worked on a research team that focused on human-animal interaction and their impacts on mental health. In 2018, the research study was acknowledged and reported on by the Washington Post. Erin continued her education at the University of Pittsburgh where she obtained her Master’s in Social Work while also providing in-home services for youth and their families. Throughout this experience, Erin successfully implemented Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) for a range of clients with differing diagnoses. Erin went on to work as a clinician for 4 years at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic’s Pediatric OCD Intensive Outpatient Program. There, she functioned as a group clinician, honing her ability to provide effective Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) to children and teens struggling with debilitating OCD symptoms. Erin also acted as a family therapist, where she implemented both structural and systematic frameworks to target family dynamics that had been impacted by OCD. Throughout Erin’s career, she has adapted and tailored a style that balances the use of humor and structure to alleviate struggles with OCD and anxiety and allows for every patient to feel comfortable and open to working through their treatment.
In Erin’s free time, you can find her hiking with her husband, laughing with her friends, and chasing her rambunctious German Shepard around.