Jo McBride, MSW, LCSW
(they/them)
Specialties: OCD, autism, ADHD, panic disorder, anxiety, depression, parents of LGBT+ kids
Living with OCD and neurodivergence can be exhausting, like your brain never works the way you or others want it to. I work with adults and teens who struggle with obsessive thoughts, compulsions, executive function challenges, sensory problems, anxiety, or feeling misunderstood in a neurotypical world. My work centers on helping you reduce distress, improve daily functioning, and foster self-compassion. I also work with parents of LGBT+ kids, as detailed below.
My approaches
I utilize Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy to treat individuals with OCD, panic disorder, and related anxiety disorders. ERP is not about forcing you into scary situations; it is about facing your fears in small, manageable steps that help you feel confident in your ability to handle whatever life throws at you. Yes, it will involve doing some scary things, but I will never ask you to do anything dangerous, and everything we do will be with your complete consent.
I use both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help patients unhook from the anxieties that hold them back from the life they want to live. Using CBT to reframe anxious thoughts and think about things differently is a useful skill that we will work on throughout therapy, and I believe that ACT enriches this work by teaching you to coexist with thoughts even if you know that they aren’t reflected in reality.
For autistic and ADHD individuals, I teach and encourage emotion regulation, frustration tolerance, executive function, and self-advocacy. Being auDHD myself, I understand that the world isn’t built for people like us. It can feel like you are failing over and over at simple tasks and social interactions, but the reality is that you are trying to operate a machine built for someone not like you and with an incomplete instruction manual. I am not here to try and “fix” your neurodivergence; I am here to help you build a scaffolding that can help you navigate this world with more ease and self-compassion.
Self-Compassion
Underlying all of therapy with me will be self-compassion work. We live in a society that not only devalues self-compassion, but villainizes it. Have you ever wondered if some people have too much self-compassion? Perhaps you think that you do! In reality, self-compassion is not narcissism, nor is it self-pity. Self-compassion revolves around understanding that suffering is a part of life and you deserve to be soothed and nurtured when you are experiencing suffering, even if you might think that “it’s not that bad.” We can’t always get that soothing from others, and sometimes it’s not appropriate to do so. It is important to learn how to soothe and nurture ourselves.
If you are thinking, “I’ve tried loving myself and I just can’t do it,” I will assure you that self-compassion is not necessarily the same as self-love. While it is a wonderful thing to love yourself, self-compassion is not “I’m a great and lovable person,” it’s “I’m a person.” Regardless of your flaws or virtues, you are a human being just like everyone else, and giving yourself compassion is one vital part of creating a more compassionate world for others too.
Compassion is also not leniency; I use the example of a parent whose child wants to stay up all night before an early-morning exam. Would the compassionate action be to let the child do as they wish and be exhausted the next day, or would it be to do what is possible to help the child get a restful sleep, even if it’s not what the child wants? In a way we are all parenting ourselves, and learning how to do so with compassion and gentleness is a skill that permeates all facets of life.
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Parents of LGBT+ Kids
A rather niche specialty I hold is working with parents of LGBT+ kids. There are a plethora of reasons why parents might struggle when their kid comes out. It could be conflicting values: maybe you were raised to believe that it is morally wrong, and maybe now you don’t know what to believe. It could be fear: will your child be bullied? Deal with discrimination and hate crimes? Were they manipulated into this? It could be frustration: why can’t my child just be “normal”? Or maybe you aren’t struggling at all with your child’s new identity, but you have anxiety about how to behave, what to say, and maybe you feel shame about how difficult it is to adjust.
These are all normal things to experience. If you are not part of the LGBT+ community yourself, and especially if you have not been exposed to this community, it can be scary to know that your child is part of it now. And even if you are LGBT+ yourself, it can still cause distress. Indeed, sometimes the fear is warranted: being part of the community usually involves some level of discrimination, and LGBT+ people experience higher levels of stress and mental health issues than cishet people.
There is always some level of grief with parenting, but when your child comes out of the closet, it can make you grieve things you never thought you would. Maybe you had always wanted a daughter, but your only daughter has just come out as trans. It could be that your child picks out a new name every week and wants to use pronouns you’ve never heard in your life and you just can’t wrap your head around it. Maybe you wanted grandchildren, but your child has married someone of the same sex and doesn’t plan to adopt. Perhaps you wish you had a son- or daughter-in-law you could be close with, but your child is aromantic or practices solo polyamory, and maybe you don’t even know what those are and are too afraid to ask!
The most important part of all of this is that you love your child and want the best for them. I can help you sort through all of these feelings and hold onto that love to guide you through this transition. I can help you understand things that are confusing, and give you space to voice thoughts and feelings that you might not want anyone else to know. There is no judgment here.
I am part of the LGBT+ community myself, and I have worked with this population in therapy as well as in advocacy for years. I know how deeply stressful coming out can be for both kids and their parents. I am passionate about helping parents deal with this stress, because I believe that so many family fractures can be prevented and healed this way. Let me help you be the best parent you can be for your LGBT+ child.
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More About Me
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Growing up on a farm has instilled in me a love for animals, and I enjoy painting, playing piano, video games, reading fanfiction, and picking up other hobbies as I go through life. I attained a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Kentucky Wesleyan College and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern Indiana before moving to North Carolina. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and my license number is C019696.
I look forward to seeing you in therapy. Let’s work together to help you grow into your best life!