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What is Palm Beach Psychologist?
Palm Beach Psychologist is the South Florida psychology practice of Dr. Steve Seay, focused on treating OCD, anxiety, panic, perfectionism, agoraphobia and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). The site combines a blog explaining conditions and treatments with information about the services offered, and it serves people in the Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas.
What the practice offers
- OCD treatment built around exposure and response prevention (ERP), a form of cognitive behavioral therapy the site says is effective for all forms of OCD, including Pure-O, by targeting subtle rituals and avoidance behaviors.
- Intensive outpatient therapy for anxiety: described as evidence-based, time-limited and aimed at rapid symptom reduction, with separate tracks for adults, teens and children.
- School-related anxiety support for students and children, including help with transitions, academic decline and school refusal.
- Remote treatment by phone or online for eligible patients in Florida, Missouri and some international locations.
- Free monthly support groups for adults, teens and children with OCD, listed on an events calendar.
Who it suits
The practice fits someone seeking a specialist in anxiety-spectrum conditions rather than general talk therapy—particularly a person with OCD who wants structured ERP, or a family whose child's anxiety is disrupting school. The intensive program is aimed at people who want concentrated progress quickly, while the blog suits anyone who prefers to learn about a condition before committing to treatment.
A practical next step
If OCD or panic is the main concern, start with the OCD treatment page to see whether ERP matches what you're looking for, then check the remote options if you live outside South Florida. For general background, the blog is the more approachable entry point.
How can I tell if my child's school anxiety needs professional treatment rather than normal back-to-school nerves?
Distinguish normal back-to-school nerves from a treatable problem by looking at duration, intensity, and interference rather than the presence of anxiety itself. Almost every child feels some apprehension before a new school year. The signal that professional help may be warranted is anxiety that persists well beyond the first few weeks, escalates rather than settles, and starts to cost the child something concrete—attendance, grades, friendships, sleep, or physical health.
The page evidence from Palm Beach Psychologist frames this directly: severe school-related anxiety can affect "even the most capable students" and lead to poor academic performance, impaired relationships, and "outright school refusal." That last outcome is the clearest red flag. A child who is occasionally nervous is different from one who is repeatedly unable to get through the school door.
Practical signals to weigh
- Persistence: Worry that continues for weeks after the term starts, or that begins well before school and never eases.
- Avoidance: Repeated requests to stay home, somatic complaints (stomachaches, headaches) that appear mainly on school mornings and resolve on weekends, or actual refusal.
- Functional cost: Declining grades, withdrawal from friends, dropping activities, disrupted sleep or appetite.
- Intensity: Distress that seems out of proportion to the situation and that reassurance doesn't touch.
- Scope: Anxiety that has spread beyond school into home, social, or bedtime routines.
When to seek an assessment
Consider a professional evaluation when several of these signals cluster together, when they last more than a few weeks, or when your own attempts at reassurance and routine-setting aren't moving the needle. The site notes that treatment can address existing problems or "overcome small problems before they get out of hand," which is a reasonable argument for earlier consultation rather than waiting for a crisis.
A useful next step: keep a two-week log of school-morning behavior, physical complaints, and avoidance episodes. Bring it to a pediatrician or child psychologist—concrete patterns are far more informative than a single bad morning, and they make the "normal nerves versus treatable anxiety" decision much easier to make with a clinician.
Who is eligible for the intensive outpatient program for anxiety, and how is it different from weekly therapy?
The intensive outpatient program (IOP) described on Palm Beach Psychologist is open to adults, teens and children, with separate treatment tracks for each age group. It is presented as an evidence-based, time-limited option for people who want to reduce anxiety symptoms quickly, and it is run through the South Florida practice (Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami). The site does not spell out formal admission criteria, so eligibility beyond those age tracks would need to be confirmed directly with the practice.
How it differs from weekly therapy
| Intensive outpatient program | Typical weekly therapy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pace | Time-limited, designed for rapid symptom reduction | Ongoing, usually one session per week |
| Structure | Separate tracks by age (adults, teens, children) | Individual schedule set with the therapist |
| Best suited to | People who want concentrated help and can commit to a heavier schedule | People who prefer gradual progress alongside work, school or family life |
| Practical cost | More time per week, so a bigger weekly commitment | Lower weekly time commitment |
What to weigh
A parent whose teenager is refusing school because of severe anxiety may find the teen track useful if the family can support a more demanding schedule. An adult juggling a full-time job should check session frequency and duration before choosing the program over weekly therapy, because the site does not list those details.
Next step: contact the practice to ask about admission criteria, weekly hours, expected length and fees, and ask whether weekly therapy or the IOP fits your situation. For background reading first, the site's blog and its pages on school-related anxiety and OCD treatment (including ERP) are useful starting points.
How does exposure and response prevention (ERP) work for Pure-O OCD, where the compulsions are mental rather than visible?
ERP works for Pure-O OCD by treating mental acts—silently reviewing memories, mentally "canceling" a thought, rehearsing arguments, checking how you feel—as compulsions, then having you practice exposure while dropping those rituals.
What ERP targets in Pure-O
- Exposures deliberately bring on the unwanted thought, image or doubt: writing it out, listening to a looped recording, or imagining the feared outcome on purpose.
- Response prevention means not performing the mental fix. You let the thought sit, tolerate the uncertainty, and skip the reviewing, neutralizing or self-reassurance.
- The mechanism is learning by experience that the thought is not dangerous and that anxiety falls on its own without rituals. The page describes ERP as a specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy effective for all forms of OCD, including Pure-O, and says treatment focuses on identifying and eliminating subtle rituals and avoidance behaviors to reduce unwanted thoughts, impulses and images.
Why it is harder than it sounds
Mental compulsions are fast and easy to hide, so the work is largely about spotting them. A reader with harm-themed intrusive thoughts might spend an hour "proving" they are a good person before noticing that the proving is the compulsion. A therapist's role is to help name those invisible rituals and design exposures that trigger them reliably.
A concrete example
Someone with a fear of contaminating others might touch a "contaminated" surface, then agree not to mentally replay the contact or reassure themselves. The exposure is brief; the response prevention is the part that takes practice, since the urge to analyze can return for hours.
Next step
Keep a one-week log of what you do mentally after an intrusive thought—review, suppress, test, seek reassurance—and bring it to a first session. For context on the treatment approach, see Palm Beach Psychologist; the International OCD Foundation at IOCDF is a useful general resource on ERP and Pure-O.
Can I see Dr. Seay online if I live outside Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale, and which states or locations qualify for remote therapy?
Yes—remote therapy is offered, but eligibility depends on where you are physically located during the session, not just where you live. The site states that prospective patients in Florida, Missouri, and some international destinations may be eligible for phone-based or online therapy. So if you are in Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, or elsewhere in Florida, or in Missouri, you can inquire; people in other U.S. states are not listed as eligible. The site also notes that in-office treatment is considered ideal in most cases, with remote options presented as an alternative for those without access to a local anxiety specialist.
Practical next step
Before booking, confirm two things: your physical location at the time of each appointment (travel across state lines can change eligibility) and whether your specific concern—OCD, panic, agoraphobia, BDD, or school-related anxiety—fits the practice's remote format. Use the site's contact or inquiry route to verify eligibility for international locations, since "some" destinations are specified rather than all.
Decision criterion
Choose remote care if you are in an eligible location and lack a local specialist in ERP-based OCD or anxiety treatment; choose in-office if you can access it, given the site's own preference for in-person work in most cases. For background on OCD treatment generally, the International OCD Foundation explains exposure and response prevention.
Are the monthly OCD support groups for adults, teens, and kids free to attend, and how do I find the schedule?
Yes. The site states that the clinic offers free monthly support groups for adults, teens, and kids with OCD. To find the schedule, check the events calendar on Palm Beach Psychologist; the site says the latest information is posted there.
As a practical next step, confirm the current month's date, time, and location on the calendar before attending, since monthly group details can change. If you are considering the group for a child or teen, it is worth checking whether a parent or guardian is expected to attend and whether any age grouping applies.
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