Welcome to The Image of You Counseling, LLC.
Empowering Your Journey Toward Mental Wellness
Are intrusive thoughts, anxiety, or self-doubt making you feel like you’ve lost yourself?
Welcome! I’m Katie Hummel, LCSW in St. Petersburg, Fl. If you’re searching for OCD, anxiety, and relationship counseling in Pinellas and Hillsborough County, you’re in the right place.
Feeling stuck in anxiety, intrusive thoughts, relationship stress, or constant overthinking can be exhausting, and it can start to impact every part of your life. Whether you’re struggling with OCD, panic, perfectionism, communication issues, or feeling emotionally overwhelmed, therapy can help you better understand what’s happening and learn practical tools to create lasting change.
I provide private pay therapy for adults & couples in Pinellas & Hillsborough County for anxiety disorders, OCD, relationship issues, and emotional overwhelm. My approach is warm, straightforward, supportive, and evidence-based. We focus on understanding patterns, learning skills you can actually use in daily life, and creating real, lasting change!
Many of my clients come to therapy feeling disconnected—from themselves and from others. You might find yourself asking, 'Who am I anymore?' 'What do I want out of life?' 'Why do I keep suffering?' 'Will I ever feel happy?' or 'Why can’t I connect with people?' These experiences are common with OCD, anxiety, and unresolved trauma—and they are treatable.
I use evidence-based approaches, including CBT & ERP therapy, along with talk therapy to help clients manage intrusive thoughts, reduce anxiety, improve self-esteem, and build healthier relationships. My work as an anxiety OCD and relationship therapist focuses on helping you understand your patterns, develop practical tools, and create lasting change—not just temporary relief.
In therapy, we work as a team—I’m right there with you, straightforward, down-to-earth, nonjudgmental, and actively engaged. I bring warmth, honesty, and humor so therapy feels real, not clinical.
I offer individual and couples therapy for adults (18-100+) and provide a safe, inclusive, and affirming space for the LGBTQ+ community and individuals of all cultural and religious backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities. My practice is built on a foundation of respect, diversity, and equity.
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Empower Your Journey with The Image of You Counseling, LLC.
Embrace
At The Image of You Counseling, LLC, our mission is to provide compassionate counseling for individuals and couples facing emotional challenges, including psychological issues like OCD, anxiety, and deep-rooted pain. We utilize CBT therapy and ERP therapy to facilitate change, which is essential for personal growth and starts with looking inward. Our focus is on empowering you to overcome obstacles and find balance in your life.
Evolve
Embracing the journey of evolution and personal growth, whether in our relationships or individually, allows us to evolve. Engaging in individual or couples therapy can equip you with new tools and strategies that empower you to break free from old patterns, obsessions, compulsions, fears, and past habits. Additionally, CBT, ERP or EMDR therapy can play a crucial role in this transformative process. Each step forward is a celebration of your resilience and a commitment to building a brighter, more fulfilling future.
Thrive
Once you have the tools, you truly begin to realize that your greatest strength lies within you. This newfound understanding empowers you to thrive in all aspects of life. The journey is about taking charge of your mind, body, and soul, prioritizing your happiness and peace. It’s essential to recognize that old wounds, chronic mental health issues like anxiety or OCD, and past trauma do not have to dictate your existence.
Types of Anxiety & Related Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) often endure intense feelings of worry or fear that persist most days for six months or longer. This anxiety can be connected to various life aspects, including relationships, careers, health, and safety. In fact, GAD impacts nearly 6% of adults at some stage in their lives. Symptoms, which can be challenging to control, may also encompass changes in sleep patterns, difficulty concentrating, digestive issues, fatigue, restlessness, irritability, and muscle tension, particularly in the neck and shoulders. While some people might have a genetic predisposition to GAD, the condition may also be influenced by family dynamics and environmental factors. Although the specific causes remain unclear, diagnosis typically requires an evaluation by a healthcare provider or a mental health professional.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can significantly impact daily life, but therapies such as CBT therapy and ERP therapy have been shown to help manage symptoms effectively.
OCD is classified as its own category, separate from anxiety disorders, specifically within the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders in the DSM-5. This condition involves repeated, unwanted thoughts or urges (obsessions) and a compelling need to perform actions repeatedly (compulsions), impacting up to 3 million American adults. Effective treatments, such as CBT therapy and ERP therapy, can help manage symptoms and enhance the overall quality of life. Symptoms of OCD include:
- Feelings of fear regarding losing control of behavior
- An overwhelming need to clean excessively or a heightened fear of germs
- Anxiety about forgetting or losing items
- Arranging objects in a specific order
- Repeatedly checking that tasks have been completed
While the causes of OCD may be linked to genetics or traumatic experiences, particularly in childhood, they remain not fully understood.
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is a condition where an individual experiences multiple panic attacks over an extended period. These panic attacks can occur unexpectedly, often without any apparent danger, and involve intense feelings of fear or sensations of losing control. Notably, this condition is more prevalent among females than males, with women being more than twice as likely to be affected. Individuals suffering from panic disorder may find relief through CBT therapy, which can help them manage these overwhelming feelings.
Symptoms of a panic attack include:
- Difficulty breathing
- Dizziness
- Feeling weak
- Increased heart rate
- Light-headedness
- Pain in the chest
- Shaking or chills
- Sweating with or without feeling hot
- Upset stomach
A person with panic disorder often lives in intense fear of experiencing another panic attack, leading them to avoid places where such episodes have occurred. Similar to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), the exact causes of panic disorder remain unclear. However, individuals who have experienced traumatic events or significant loss are at an increased risk.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) involves fear or worry related to social interactions, and it is more commonly experienced by women than men, particularly among teens and young women, whose symptoms often tend to be more severe. Effective treatments for SAD, such as CBT therapy and ERP therapy, can help individuals manage their anxiety. Symptoms of social anxiety disorder include avoiding social situations or interactions, extreme shyness or fear of talking to new people, feelings of nervousness, embarrassment, or being judged, overthinking conversations, and ruminating about interactions with others. While the specific causes of social anxiety disorder are unclear, it may run in families, and stress and environmental factors could also play a role.
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Separation anxiety disorder involves intense fear or reactions related to being apart from those to whom the individual is attached. While these fears and reactions are normal for babies and young children, they can become a concern if individuals do not grow out of them around school age. This condition can also affect teens and adults.
Phobias
A phobia is a continuous, irrational, and intense fear of something that poses little or no actual danger. For example, an individual may experience a phobia of spiders or heights.
Phobia symptoms include:
- Avoiding something specific due to fear, such as needles or dogs
- Difficulty breathing
- Increased heart rate
- Shaking
- Sweating
- Upset stomach
Phobias can stem from a traumatic event related to the feared object or from someone consistently expressing the dangers of what is feared. Additionally, sometimes the cause of a phobia is unrelated to the specific fear, or the cause remains unknown.
How Anxiety and Trauma Affect Relationships
Couples Counseling
Anxiety and unresolved trauma can significantly impact relationships by creating a cycle of fear and mistrust. Individuals dealing with unresolved trauma may experience hyper-vigilance, leading to constant guarding against potential threats, which can result in unfounded accusations or suspicion. This hyper-vigilance can also hinder emotional vulnerability and sharing deep feelings, fostering a fear of physical intimacy. Similarly, anxiety can cause individuals to feel overly alert or numb, adversely affecting their ability to communicate effectively and manage stress within relationships. This may lead to communication breakdowns, where partners shut down during arguments or feel overwhelmed by emotional conversations. Both anxiety and unresolved trauma contribute to a toxic environment in relationships, undermining trust and diminishing emotional intimacy.
Here's a great article to read on the 10 Common Patterns Seen in Unresolved Relational Trauma | Psychology Today