Erik Osterlund - Online Therapist in Pennsylvania

Anger is a normal human emotion; it shows up when we feel hurt, disrespected, or powerless. But when anger starts to feel bigger than you, when it’s showing up more often, lasting longer, feeling out of your control, or leading to reactions you later regret, it can take a real toll on your relationships, work, and self-esteem.

You might notice signs like feeling tense or irritable all the time, snapping over small things, holding in frustration until it bursts, or feeling guilty afterward anger surfaces. Sometimes anger hides other emotions such as sadness, fear, or stress which is harder to express, especially if you’ve been told to '“get over it”, “it’s not a big deal” when it is, or “buck up”. It’s not that you’re “an angry person”; it’s that anger has become your body’s way of saying something deeper needs attention.

In therapy, we’ll work together to understand what’s fueling your anger and how to manage it in healthier ways. You’ll learn how to recognize your triggers, calm your body’s stress response before it peaks, and express yourself clearly without letting anger take control. Therapy also helps you rebuild trust and communication in relationships that may have been impacted, and strengthen your ability to respond, not react, when life gets frustrating.

You don’t have to keep feeling on edge or ashamed of how you handle anger. With support, you will learn how to respond differently, set boundaries that feel fair, and reconnect with a sense of calm and control, even when things don’t go your way.

Anxiety feels like your mind is always one step ahead: worrying, overthinking, replaying, or predicting what could go wrong next. It shows up as racing thoughts, tension in your chest, trouble sleeping, or the constant feeling that you “should be doing more.”

He also works with BFRB (body-focused repetitive behaviors), such as trichotillomania (hair-pulling) and excoriation (skin-picking) by using habit reversal training (HRT).

Therapy for anxiety helps you slow down those racing thoughts, untangle the “what ifs,” and learn how to feel more grounded and in control. Through evidence-based approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), you’ll build tools to quiet the noise, manage stress, and respond to anxiety in healthier, more compassionate ways. Whether it’s

• social anxiety,

• panic attacks,

• phobias,

• manifesting as destructive physical anxiety

• perfectionism, or

• general overwhelm,

Therapy gives you the space to understand what’s happening beneath the surface, and start feeling like yourself again.

Bipolar Disorder is a mood disorder that affects how your energy, emotions, and motivation rise and fall over time. It’s more than occasional mood swings, it involves shifts between periods of depression and periods of elevated mood (such as mania or hypomania) that can impact your relationships, work, sleep, and sense of stability. When these changes feel unpredictable or hard to manage, life can start to feel out of control.

You might notice stretches of feeling low, exhausted, hopeless, or disconnected, followed by times of feeling unusually energized, driven, irritable, or impulsive. During elevated moods, you may sleep less, take on too much, spend more than planned, or feel like your thoughts are racing. During depressive phases, even small tasks can feel overwhelming. These shifts can be confusing, especially when you’re not sure which version of yourself will show up.

Bipolar Disorder isn’t a personal failing or a lack of willpower. It’s a condition shaped by brain chemistry, genetics, and life stressors. Many people spend years feeling misunderstood or blaming themselves for changes they don’t fully control. Over time, this can lead to shame, strained relationships, or fear of trusting your own emotions.

In therapy for Bipolar Disorder, we focus on building awareness, stability, and support. You’ll learn to recognize early signs of mood changes, develop routines that support emotional balance, and create coping strategies for both depressive and elevated states. Therapy also helps with communication, boundary-setting, and working alongside medication management when appropriate. With the right support, Bipolar Disorder is manageable and it’s possible to live a grounded, fulfilling life with more consistency and confidence.

Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) are more than “bad habits” or a lack of willpower. They’re repetitive behaviors, like hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting, or cheek biting, that often show up as a way to cope with stress, anxiety, boredom, or uncomfortable emotions. When BFRBs feel hard to stop or start happening automatically, they can take a real toll on your confidence, daily life, and sense of control.

You might notice urges that feel physical or impossible to ignore, long periods of picking or pulling without realizing it, or cycles of relief followed by guilt or shame. Many people go to great lengths to hide marks, avoid certain situations, or feel frustrated with themselves for “not being able to stop,” even when they’ve tried countless times.

BFRBs are not about being careless or lacking discipline. They’re closely connected to how the brain processes urges, sensory input, and emotional regulation. Over time, these behaviors can become your body’s learned way of self-soothing or managing internal tension, even when you desperately want something different.

In therapy for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors, we focus on building awareness, reducing shame, and creating practical strategies that actually work. You’ll learn how to recognize triggers and urges, interrupt patterns before they escalate, and develop alternative coping tools that meet the same needs without causing harm. With support, BFRBs are treatable, and it’s possible to feel more in control, more confident, and less defined by these behaviors.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is often misunderstood, but at its core, it’s about experiencing emotions more intensely and for longer periods of time. When feelings shift quickly or feel overwhelming, it can take a real toll on your relationships, work, and sense of self. It’s not about being “too much” or “too dramatic”, it’s about a nervous system that’s learned to stay on high alert.

You might notice intense fear of abandonment, sudden mood changes, feeling deeply connected one moment and hurt or angry the next, or a persistent sense of emptiness. Small interactions can feel emotionally loaded, and reactions may happen faster than you can slow them down. Afterward, guilt or shame may creep in, leaving you wondering why things escalated when you didn’t want them to.

Often, BPD develops in environments where emotions weren’t validated or felt unsafe to express. When you’ve been told to “calm down,” “stop overreacting,” or that your feelings were wrong, your body learns to protect itself through intensity. These patterns aren’t flaws—they’re coping strategies that once helped you survive.

In therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder, we work together to build emotional regulation, strengthen your sense of self, and create more stable relationships. You’ll learn to recognize triggers, slow emotional reactions, communicate needs clearly, and respond rather than react. With the right support, BPD is treatable, and it’s possible to feel more grounded, connected, and in control of your life.

Living with chronic pain is an invisible battle. You might look “fine” on the outside while feeling completely drained, frustrated, or misunderstood on the inside. The constant exhaustion, flare-ups, medical appointments, and uncertainty wear down even the strongest person… physically, emotionally, and mentally. Over time, it starts to affect your mood, relationships, and sense of identity.

Therapy for chronic pain focuses on helping you navigate the emotional side of what your body is going through. It’s not about pretending the pain isn’t real; it’s about learning how to cope with it in a way that gives you back a sense of control and hope. Together, we’ll explore how pain affects your thoughts, stress levels, and daily life, and develop strategies to help you manage it with more ease and self-compassion.

We’ll also look at the toll chronic pain can take on your relationships and self-worth. It’s common to feel guilt, anger, or grief for the life you had before, and therapy offers space to process those feelings without judgment.

You deserve care that acknowledges both your physical and emotional experience. Therapy will help you find balance, reclaim your energy where you can, and reconnect with meaning and joy… even on the harder days. You are more than your diagnosis, and your story doesn’t end with pain.

Depression looks different for everyone. For some, it feels like a constant heaviness or loss of motivation; for others, it’s numbness, irritability, or just feeling “off” for longer than usual. You might notice changes in sleep or appetite, pulling away from people, struggling to focus, or feeling like you’re moving through life in slow motion. Even things that once brought joy might now feel like chores.

Depression isn’t a sign of weakness by any measure; it’s a signal that something deeper needs care and attention. Many people live with high-functioning depression, appearing fine on the outside while silently struggling to keep up with daily life. It can be confusing and frustrating to feel “stuck” when you’re trying so hard to feel better.

Therapy offers space to slow down, unpack what’s happening beneath the surface, and start rebuilding from a place of understanding and compassion. Together, we’ll look at what’s fueling the sadness or emptiness and find small, realistic steps to help you feel more grounded and connected again. You’ll learn ways to challenge harsh self-talk, recognize early signs of burnout, and create routines that gently lift your mood over time.

You don’t have to go through depression alone. With the right support, healing happens; not overnight, but steadily. You can begin to feel lighter, more hopeful, and ready to reconnect with the parts of life that matter most to you.

OCD isn’t just about being neat or organized; it’s the endless loop of unwanted thoughts and the pressure to do something to feel “just right.” It can look like checking things over and over, replaying conversations, or worrying that your thoughts mean something bad about you.

OCD is fueled by anxiety and uncertainty, not who you are. Therapy for OCD helps you break free from that cycle. Using proven treatments like Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), you’ll learn how to face intrusive thoughts without giving in to compulsions and regain a sense of control over your life. Whether it’s checking, contamination, harm, religious (scrupulosity), relationship, or Pure O, (even hoarding), therapy offers practical tools and compassionate support to help you quiet the noise, rebuild trust in yourself, and feel more at peace in your own mind.

With treating OCD, you will never be told to do anything the therapist wouldn’t do also. You also will not “dive in the deep end”. Instead, your therapist will help you gradually build up the trust and confidence to face these uncertainties and fears.

Want to learn about the different subtypes of OCD? Check out our blogs linked below:

• Checking OCD

• Contamination OCD

• Harm OCD

• Perfectionism OCD (Just Right)

• Perinatal OCD

• Pure O

• Relationship OCD

• Religious OCD (Scrupulosity)

• Sexual Orientation OCD

• more on “silent symptoms”

PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome)

PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections)

PANS/PANDAS are conditions that can cause sudden and dramatic changes in a child or teen’s mood, behavior, and mental health. These symptoms often appear abruptly and can feel confusing or alarming for both the child and their family. What may look like anxiety, OCD, emotional outbursts, or personality changes can quickly begin to impact school, relationships, and daily functioning.

You might notice intense anxiety, obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviors, emotional meltdowns, irritability, mood swings, sleep changes, or sudden regression in skills. A child who once felt easygoing may become fearful, explosive, or withdrawn almost overnight. These shifts can feel heartbreaking and exhausting, especially when it seems like the child you know has suddenly disappeared.

PANS/PANDAS are not behavioral problems or parenting failures. They are believed to be linked to immune or inflammatory responses that affect the brain, often following infections or illness. When symptoms are misunderstood or dismissed, families may feel blamed, overwhelmed, or unsure where to turn for help.

In therapy for PANS/PANDAS, we focus on supporting emotional regulation, reducing distress, and helping both the child and caregivers cope with sudden changes. Therapy will help manage anxiety, OCD symptoms, and emotional reactions while also providing education and tools for the family system. With the right support and a collaborative care approach, symptoms can become more manageable, and children can regain a sense of stability, safety, and confidence.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps you understand how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all connected (it is hard to untangle when you are in the thick of it) and how small shifts in one area lead to big changes in the others. If you’ve ever caught yourself spiraling with “what ifs,”feeling stuck in negative thinking, or reacting in ways you don’t fully understand, CBT offers a structured way to break that cycle.

In therapy, we’ll look at the patterns that keep you feeling anxious, unmotivated, or weighed down, and learn practical ways to change them. You’ll build skills to challenge unhelpful thoughts, calm your body’s stress response, and take small, consistent actions that start to lift your mood, a process known as behavioral activation. This might look like reconnecting with activities you’ve stopped enjoying, rebuilding your routines, or adding simple habits that bring a sense of purpose and movement back into your life.

Under CBT is also HRT or Habit Reversal Training, which is a helpful technique to use when anxiety manifests as physical destruction like skin picking and hair pulling.

CBT is an evidence-based approach proven to help with anxiety, OCD, chronic pain, depression, and stress, giving you tools you can use long after therapy ends. It’s not about thinking “happy thoughts,” but about seeing things more clearly and responding to life in ways that align with what actually matters to you.

CBT is also great for building or breaking habits; helping you shift from feeling stuck or reactive to feeling grounded, intentional, and capable of real change.

Sometimes, it’s not just the trauma itself that keeps you stuck… it’s the beliefs that form afterward.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is an evidence-based trauma therapy that helps you gently examine and shift the thoughts that developed after a painful or overwhelming experience. When you’ve been through trauma, it’s common to form beliefs like “It was my fault,” “I’m not safe,” “I can’t trust anyone,” or “I should have done more.” These thoughts can quietly shape how you see yourself, others, and the world.

CPT helps you identify these “stuck points” and evaluate whether they are accurate, helpful, or rooted in trauma. Through structured conversations and guided exercises, you learn how trauma impacts your thinking and how to create more balanced, compassionate perspectives.

This approach is especially effective for individuals experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sexual trauma, childhood trauma, military trauma, and other life-altering events. CPT focuses on key areas often disrupted by trauma, including safety, trust, power and control, self-esteem, and intimacy.

Rather than reliving trauma in overwhelming ways, Cognitive Processing Therapy gives you tools to understand how trauma changed your beliefs and how to reclaim your sense of control and identity.

Healing doesn’t mean forgetting what happened; it means no longer letting trauma define how you see yourself or your future.

Life can feel like a rollercoaster sometimes; emotions hit hard, relationships feel complicated, and you may find yourself reacting in ways you regret or don’t fully understand. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, is a skills-based approach that helps you find balance between accepting yourself as you are and making the changes you want to see. DBT is about giving you the tools to put into action in your life now.

DBT focuses on four main areas: mindfulness (staying present), emotion regulation (managing intense feelings), distress tolerance (handling tough situations without falling apart), and interpersonal effectiveness (building and maintaining healthy relationships). These skills aren’t just “therapy talk”; they’re practical tools you can use every day to respond more calmly and intentionally when life gets overwhelming.

If you struggle with anxiety, mood swings, impulsivity, feeling “too much,” or even just in general, DBT will help you better understand your emotions instead of fighting them. It teaches you how to pause, reflect, and respond instead of react; turning moments of chaos into opportunities for control and clarity.

In therapy, you’ll learn and practice these skills in ways that fit your real life, not just theory. Over time, you’ll start to notice more balance, more peace, and more confidence in how you handle both yourself and your relationships.

DBT helps you feel more centered and in control; allowing you to navigate life’s ups and downs with compassion, resilience, and a stronger sense of self.

Find DBT in individual therapy and even in group therapy with Erik.

If you’ve ever felt trapped in your own thoughts, like worrying about what might happen or feeling like you have to do something to feel safe or “just right”, I’ve heard this many times from my clients… It’s exhausting, and it starts to take over your life. That’s where Exposure and Response Prevention, or ERP/ExRP, comes in.

ERP is a highly effective therapy for OCD and anxiety (including panic and phobias) and even when you want to challenge your fears. Together, we gently face the situations or thoughts that trigger your anxiety, while learning how to respond differently, without doing the things that temporarily ease the fear but keep the cycle going. Over time, this helps your brain learn that you can handle discomfort and that anxiety naturally fades on its own. You get trust in yourself back.

You won’t ever be pushed into something you’re not ready for. We move at a pace that feels manageable for you. If intrusive thoughts make you doubt yourself, we’ll explore them safely and compassionately, helping you see they don’t define who you are.

ERP isn’t easy work, it’s empowering work. The goal isn’t to erase anxiety, but to help you live freely again; spending less time managing fear and more time living the life you want.

Learn more about ERP for OCD directly from Erik in this video.

Our minds are constantly running; replaying the past, worrying about the future, or overthinking everything in between. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Mindfulness-Based CBT) helps you slow down, become more aware of your thoughts and emotions, and respond with intention instead of getting swept up in those thoughts and moments.

This approach combines the practical tools of CBT with the calming awareness of mindfulness. Together, they help you understand how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected, and how to create more space between what you feel and how you react. You’ll learn how to notice negative thought patterns, challenge them when needed, and gently shift your focus to what’s happening right now instead of what could go wrong.

Mindfulness-Based CBT is especially helpful for anxiety, OCD, depression, and stress, but it’s also great for anyone who feels stuck in “auto-pilot.” It teaches you how to quiet self-criticism, manage racing thoughts, and reconnect with your body through simple grounding exercises and mindful awareness. It goes beyond just deep breathing or sitting still.

In therapy, we’ll work together to build skills that help you stay present even when life feels chaotic. Over time, mindfulness helps you feel calmer, more resilient, and more in control of your reactions.

You can’t always control what thoughts show up; however, you can learn how to meet them with curiosity instead of judgment. Mindfulness-Based CBT helps you do just that, one grounded moment at a time.

We all have stories we tell ourselves; about who we are, what we’ve been through, and what we’re capable of. Sometimes, those stories are shaped by pain, trauma, or messages we’ve absorbed from others, and they start to feel like our entire identity. Narrative Therapy helps you step back, look at those stories from a new angle, and recognize that you are the author, not just a character trapped in the plot. I know, easier said than done… but that is why I am here to help!

In our work together, we’ll explore how your experiences have influenced the way you see yourself and the world around you. Maybe you’ve carried beliefs like “I’m not good enough,” “I always mess things up,” or “I have to keep it together.” Through gentle reflection and conversation, therapy helps you separate yourself from those limiting stories so you can begin to rewrite them in a way that feels more empowering and true to who you are today.

Narrative Therapy doesn’t erase your past; it gives it context and meaning. It helps you honor where you’ve been while also making space for growth, healing, and possibility. Whether you’re navigating anxiety, trauma, relationship challenges, or self-esteem struggles, this approach helps you see that your story isn’t over, and you have the power to shape what comes next.

Together, we’ll uncover your voice, your values, and your strengths, and help you write a story that reflects the life you want to live.

Sometimes, it’s not the events themselves that cause our distress; it’s the meaning we attach to them. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) helps you identify and challenge the beliefs and thought patterns that make everyday stress, anxiety, or frustration feel overwhelming.

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “I should be doing better,” “I can’t handle this,” or “They have to treat me fairly,” you’ve experienced how rigid or unrealistic expectations shape emotions like guilt, anger, or sadness. REBT helps you recognize these automatic thoughts and replace them with more balanced, realistic ways of thinking without losing your motivation or compassion.

In therapy, we’ll explore how your thoughts, emotions, and actions work together (similar to CBT while a different perspective on it), and you’ll learn how to shift the beliefs that keep you stuck in self-criticism or perfectionism. Over time, you’ll start to notice that situations that once triggered intense reactions begin to feel easier to handle.

REBT is practical and empowering; it gives you tools you can actually use in the moment. You’ll learn how to pause before reacting, find perspective when things don’t go as planned, and build self-acceptance even when life feels messy.

The goal isn’t to think “positively,” but to think realistically, so you can respond to life’s challenges with clarity, flexibility, and a little more kindness toward yourself.