Deborah Sepinwall
Accepting patients in-person and online.
Accepting patients in-person and online.
Dr. Sepinwall, a founding psychologist of Providence Psychology Services, received her PhD from the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Temple University in Philadelphia and her post-doctoral fellowship at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
Dr. Sepinwall has been in private practice for over 20 years. She is expertly trained in empirically validated therapies that include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She regularly attends professional seminars and conferences to remain current in and advance her areas of expertise.
Dr. Sepinwall treats anxiety disorders (including panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder and social phobia); maladaptive coping behaviors including compulsive overeating, compulsive spending); as well as perfectionism, relationship concerns, shame, self-esteem, and imposter syndrome. She has worked with hundreds of patients struggling with these conditions and brings their collective wisdom to the work. This helps the individual client to feel more understood and to learn from the strategies that others with similar struggles have found beneficial.
Dr. Sepinwall is expertly trained to treat body focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs include hair pulling and skin picking) using a behavioral model that focuses on the complexity of variables that precipitate and maintain the BFRB so that tailored interventions can be selected to help the individual refrain from their problematic behavior.
Social anxiety - Works with clients with social anxiety
Health anxiety - Assists clients in dealing with anxiety pertaining to their health
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) - Reducing unwanted intrusive thoughts and rituals by gradually building comfort and confidence facing difficult fears, thoughts, and emotions
Perfectionism - Coping with feelings of anxiety, stress, self-criticism, and procrastination; addressing unrealistic expectations of one’s self and negatively comparing self to others
Trichotillomania (hair pulling) - Support around tolerating anxiety, stress, and boredom; reduction or elimination of compulsive hair-pulling behaviors; strategies for developing alternative coping mechanisms.
Procrastination - Learning how to identify instances of procrastination and what one’s procrastination patterns are; practicing mental health strategies to decrease the occurrence of procrastination
Years of Experience: 23 years
Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School, Postdoctoral fellowship, 2001 - 2003
Temple University Hospital, Predoctoral internship, 2000 - 2001
University of Vermont, PhD, Clinical Psychology, 2001
McGill University, BA, Psychology, 1994
Rhode Island: PS00877
English