Joanna Chango-James, Ph.D.

Dr. Joanna Chango-James is a licensed clinical psychologist and a highly sought-after expert in the treatment of severe anxiety and OCD. Trained as a clinical scientist with a prestigious background—including a postdoctoral fellowship at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School—she brings premier, empirically supported treatments directly to her clients. While she utilizes rigorous, evidence-based approaches, her therapeutic style is incredibly warm, open, and deeply collaborative. She believes in setting clear goals and actively tracking progress, ensuring her clients feel supported and empowered to cultivate deeply meaningful, satisfying lives.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Specialist

Dr. Chango-James is an absolute specialist in the treatment of OCD and related conditions. She provides highly targeted care for OCD primarily utilizing the gold-standard Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), while thoughtfully incorporating elements of Inference-Based CBT (I-CBT) to help clients untangle imaginary “doubt bubbles.” Additionally, she offers highly effective, targeted interventions for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) such as hair-pulling (trichotillomania) and skin-picking (excoriation). Utilizing Habit Reversal Training (HRT) and the Comprehensive Behavioral (ComB) model, she helps clients safely interrupt these neurological loops, build awareness, and develop practical, lasting coping strategies.

Comprehensive Anxiety Treatment

As a dedicated anxiety specialist, Dr. Chango-James has served as a clinician on several NIH-funded treatment studies. She expertly treats the full spectrum of anxiety disorders, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Illness Anxiety, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, and Specific Phobias. She provides clients with concrete, behavioral tools to reduce distress, manage panic symptoms, and reclaim their time and energy from chronic worry and fear.

Trauma & PTSD

Drawing on her extensive clinical training, including her dedicated work in the Trauma Recovery Program at the Baltimore VA Medical Center, Dr. Chango-James provides highly effective, compassionate trauma therapy. She utilizes Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), a premier evidence-based treatment for PTSD, to help clients safely process traumatic events, challenge unhelpful beliefs about themselves and the world, and heal from the deep wounds of their past.

Couples Counseling & Relationship Dynamics

In addition to her individual clinical work, Dr. Chango-James is highly trained in helping couples navigate complex relationship and communication challenges. She utilizes Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) to help partners break out of negative, repeating conflict cycles, rebuild lost trust, and foster a deeper, more secure emotional connection.

Reproductive & Perinatal Psychology

The reproductive life cycle is often accompanied by significant shifts in identity, mood, and physical well-being. Dr. Chango-James offers evidence-based, deeply compassionate support for women navigating all stages of this journey. She helps clients thoughtfully navigate the intensive emotional and physical processes of egg freezing and IVF cycles, and provides a profoundly safe space for those facing infertility, pregnancy loss, or miscarriage. She also brings targeted clinical expertise to perinatal mental health, expertly treating postpartum anxiety and depression (including postpartum OCD), as well as hormonally driven shifts associated with PMDD, perimenopause, and menopause.

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Habit Reversal Training (HRT)
• Comprehensive Behavioral (ComB) Treatment Model for Body Focused Repetitive
  Behaviors
• Exposure Therapy
• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
• Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT)

Dr. Chango-James received her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, and completed her internship at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and postdoctoral fellowship at McLean Hospital-Harvard Medical School. She has worked at the following sites:

• Adolescent Residential DBT Program, McLean Hospital
• Child and Adolescent Mood Disorders Lab, McLean Hospital
• Trauma Recovery Program, Baltimore VA Hospital
• Sub-acute Inpatient Program, Baltimore VA Hospital
• Pain Clinic; Infectious Disease Clinic, Baltimore VA Hospital
• Mary D. Ainsworth Psychological Clinic, University of Virginia
• Pain Management Center, Charlottesville, VA
• Western State Hospital, Staunton, VA
• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), University of Virginia
• Virginia Institute for Development in Adulthood Research Lab, University of Virginia

First Session: $275

Follow-Ups: $250

Couples Counseling: $300