Brittany Goff, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
I’m a licensed clinical social worker with extensive expertise in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Autism, and ADHD. My journey into mental health began working alongside a Lyme-literate medical doctor, where I provided mental health therapy to individuals experiencing psychiatric symptoms as a result of infections such as Lyme disease, PANS/PANDAS, and other autoimmune conditions. While the physician addressed the medical side, I worked closely with patients struggling with the psychiatric impacts of parasitic infections, bacterial and viral illnesses, neuroinflammation, and immune system dysfunction. Through this experience, I witnessed firsthand how deeply interconnected physical health and mental health are.
One of the most prevalent psychiatric symptoms I encountered was OCD, a condition that frequently emerges in response to infection-driven inflammation in the brain. This early exposure led me to specialize in OCD treatment, further deepening my passion for working with neurodivergent individuals.
I am a late-diagnosed autistic woman with lived experience of OCD. Having relied on exposure therapy throughout my life, I stumbled upon a lesser-known European therapy that transformed my OCD into a subclinical condition. This transformative experience sparked my passion for Inference-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT). I became a national leader in I-CBT and was among the first to introduce the model in the United States. I’ve has trained over 1,000 therapists in I-CBT and regularly lecture on its application in OCD treatment. I also developed my own adapted version of I-CBT specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of neurodivergent individuals, making this approach more accessible, affirming, and effective.
As the founder and director of Zen, my work focuses on the supervision, training, and dissemination of I-CBT, particularly in the context of neurodiversity. I established the I-CBT Online Learning program, a self-paced platform designed to educate clinicians on neuroaffirmative therapies. I am so an instructor at the Cognitive Behavior Institute, enhancing the professional community’s understanding of I-CBT through live training sessions. My dedication to advancing this field is further demonstrated by my membership in the International OCD Foundation and by authoring the first workbook on I-CBT.
I also specialize in conducting autism evaluations for adults in Maryland and am an affirming therapist in Pathological Demand Avoidance/Persistent Drive for Autonomy (PDA), leveraging my personal and professional expertise to recognize and address demand avoidance in therapy.
Being a neurodivergent woman who often went unnoticed, I was compelled to conform to a world that wasn’t designed with me in mind. The sting of rejection sensitivity fostered narratives of inadequacy and abandonment, or grappled with the insidious impact of internalized ableism, which drove my perfectionistic compulsions tendencies led me to mask my true self. This masking, done without my awareness, contributed to obsessive thoughts about my identity and my place in society.
When working together, there are a few things to expect. I will be able to recognize your demand avoidance probably before you can. My therapeutic approach is carefully tailored to ensure it does not overwhelm the nervous system, allowing you to maintain autonomy throughout the session. If you are looking for a compliance treatment, approach I may not be the best therapist for you. I also believe that Black Lives Matter and work from an anti-oppressive and anti-capitalism lens.
Let’s discover life behind the mask and obsessions by finding your true self.