The Power of Education and Community in Building Clinical Confidence
Julia Bickerstaff didn’t set out to become an anxiety and OCD specialist. She stumbled into it – which is often how the most meaningful work finds us.
Fresh out of graduate school in 2022, Julia moved from her hometown of Erie, PA, to Baltimore, MD, and started her job search. She’d loved treating anxiety during her college counseling center internship, so when she saw a posting for the Maryland Anxiety Center, it felt like a natural fit.
“Come to find out treating anxiety also involves treating/specializing in OCD, BFRBs, body dysmorphia, etc.,” Julia shares. She received specialized training in Maryland, then moved to Texas in 2023 for further training. “The rest is history! I just fell in love with the niche.”
What keeps her engaged?
“Watching people regain confidence and trust within themselves is by far my favorite part of treatment.”
When It’s Personal
Julia’s connection to this work runs deeper than professional interest. She’s dealt with anxiety and OCD symptoms her whole life, along with skin-picking. Her sister is also diagnosed with OCD.
“This niche created a lot of validation for my family and me – and even taught me there’s an actual treatment for skin-picking,” she explains. “So psychoeducation and advocacy hold a very special place in my heart.”
It’s that combination – lived experience plus specialized training – that shapes how she shows up for clients.
Finding Her People
When Julia talks about the Anxiety Training Community, you can hear how much it matters to her.
“I have learned so much from this group. Being able to interact with clinicians of different diversities and skill levels from all over the country has been a very worthwhile experience and has greatly shaped who I am as a clinician.”
She scrolls through posts regularly, always finding something new to learn. The insights she gains show up directly in her sessions. But it’s not just about the clinical content.
“This group has also helped me curb some imposter syndrome,” Julia admits. “As I interact with posts, provide feedback, and receive support, I start to believe that I actually know what I’m doing. LOL but on a more serious note, it has boosted my confidence not only in my skills, but in my ability to problem-solve and help/teach other clinicians as well.”
That confidence boost led to something tangible: Julia now offers professional presentations and consultations as a service on her website. The community didn’t just make her a better therapist – it helped her recognize her own expertise and step into it publicly.
Tools That Show Up Every Day
Julia uses resources from the training constantly – particularly interoceptive exposure ideas and the information seeking versus reassurance seeking handout.
“This has been such a big topic in a lot of my sessions, so having a PDF to refer to has been a wonderful resource,” she says.
She’d received ERP training during her supervised hours, but the Anxiety Training made her more confident in real-time application. “I still refer back to my handouts all the time for refreshers, PDF resources for clients, etc.”
Night and Day
Julia describes working with a client who experienced intense harm-related concerns about their daughter.
What if something bad happens? What if it’s my fault?
The fear drove constant safety behaviors – turning around to pick the daughter up from school if they had a “bad feeling” about a shooting, not leaving her alone with her father, and avoiding parks entirely.
“We’ve done a lot of exposure work and cognitive defusion strategies and it’s like a night-and-day difference from when we started working together,” Julia explains.
The psychoeducation alone reduced the power of the intrusive thoughts. Through exposures, the client gradually expanded their world. Now they take their daughter to the park all the time, leave her with family members, and even signed her up for soccer and gymnastics – things that would have been unthinkable before.
“The client is so proud of how far they have come, and they no longer meet diagnostic criteria for an OCD diagnosis. It’s been so wonderful to see them grow!”
From Hesitant to Specialist
Early in her career, Julia struggled to call herself a specialist. She was treating anxiety and OCD, but she was so new, learning approaches that didn’t always match what she’d been taught in graduate school and internship. Deep down, she worried she had no idea what she was doing.
“But attending this training allowed me to realize that I know way more than I thought I did, and maybe I am a specialist after all,” she reflects. “I feel so much more confident going into sessions and working with complex cases.”
For Julia, who lacked confidence as an associate, the training and community “strengthened the belief in myself that I can do hard things and treat OCD well and efficiently.”
What Other Therapists Need to Know
Julia’s message to other therapists is clear and enthusiastic:
“Being a part of this community is truly invaluable. So much can be learned or taken away from its members and trainings, no matter how much experience you have in treating OCD and anxiety. There are endless resources and everyone in the group has genuine intentions to help others grow both personally and professionally.”
She recommends it to specialists and clinicians who are looking to become more informed – but really, her story suggests it’s for anyone willing to grow, willing to question what they learned in graduate school, and willing to find their people.
Julia moved from Erie to Baltimore to Texas. She went from graduate student to associate to fully licensed specialist offering consultations to other clinicians. She found validation for her own experience and learned there was treatment for something she’d struggled with her whole life.
And somewhere along the way, she stopped hesitating to call herself what she is: a specialist who knows what she’s doing.
Connect with Julia: www.jbcounselingwellness.com