Hello! My name is Alyssa, or as some refer to me, Dr. Hoffman. I’m so glad you’ve found my website and are exploring options for care for your child.
I opened Freely Living OCD and Anxiety Therapy in March of 2021, to focus on offering care to children and adolescents who have found themselves stuck in anxious, obsessive, and compulsive cycles. During my time in a group private practice, I learned there are few providers in the area trained to treat OCD in children (which has really changed for the better recently!). With anxiety disorders and OCD always being an area of clinical interest, I began focusing my ongoing education on treating these disorders in children in 2018. I have been trained in exposure and response prevention, considered the first-line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder in children, and have focused my clinical work on treating individuals with OCD and anxiety. I truly believe that by catching these patterns early and providing appropriate and effective treatment, children can learn new ways to approach life to prevent unnecessary suffering. I am always amazed at how brave these children are and am grateful to be a small piece of their journey.
Through my career, I have become increasingly aware that OCD can present in autistic individuals and/or alongside ADHD. While not everyone I treat is autistic or experiences ADHD, I am actively building my experience, education, and toolbox to better support neurodiverse children and teens, particularly as it relates to their OCD. I believe it is important to offer treatment from a neuro-affirming lens. I strive to improve my ability to do so as well as help individuals and families recognize when these brain-based differences are present.
I graduated from the University of Indianapolis with both my master’s (2013) and doctoral (2016) degrees in clinical psychology. Throughout my education, I completed a concentration in child and adolescent psychopathology. As noted above, much of my clinical training is in the areas of child and adolescent OCD, including completing the Behavior Therapy Training Institutes program in Pediatric OCD in 2018 and attending multiple online IOCDF conferences.
