Sai Peterson – Accepting New Clients
Sai Peterson | Specialist in OCD (I-CBT), Chronic Health, & Academic Burnout
LGPC – Maryland Insurance: Cigna, BCBS, Johns Hopkins, and Aetna
Location: Virtual Specialist
Expertise in OCD & Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT)
My name is Sai, and I am a specialist in treating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) using Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT). Unlike traditional approaches that focus on habituation to anxiety, I-CBT is a specialized, evidence-based framework that targets the reasoning process behind obsessions. I help clients recognize the “obsessive doubt” and the “imagimagined stories” that trigger the OCD cycle. By learning to rely on your actual senses and reality rather than the possibilities created by OCD, you can find profound relief. I am fully trained to provide I-CBT for any client specifically seeking this sophisticated, narrative-shifting approach.
Expertise in Chronic Health & Physical Disability
Living with a chronic medical condition or physical disability often involves carrying a weight that the outside world fails to recognize. I am a specialist in helping clients navigate the “medical gaze,” the exhaustion of symptom management, and the grief that accompanies life shifts. Having a deep personal understanding of these challenges, I help my clients reconnect with their sense of agency. We work together to adapt to life’s shifts and cultivate a grounded, meaningful existence that is defined by who you are—not just your diagnosis.
Academic & Vocational Burnout: Graduate Students & Professionals
I have a clinical passion for supporting graduate students and high-achieving professionals. I understand the unique “imposter syndrome,” the relentless mental load, and the systemic pressures of academia and the modern workforce. I am an expert in helping you navigate this high-pressure environment—building the psychological resilience needed to manage burnout, set boundaries, and rediscover your purpose amidst the chaos of a performance-based culture.
Culturally Responsive Care: Asian & Asian American Identity
As a clinician with both Eastern and Western lived experience, I specialize in helping Asian and Asian American clients navigate the complexities of cultural identity, family expectations, and the “bicultural” experience. I provide a nuanced space where your heritage is honored as a vital part of your therapeutic journey, allowing for a healing process that respects your specific cultural context.
A Multimodal & Action-Oriented Approach
Therapy with me is conversational and highly intentional. I explain the “why” behind every tool we use, integrating several specialized frameworks:
I-CBT for OCD: To dismantle obsessive doubt and return to reality-based sensing.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): To develop psychological flexibility and values-based living.
CBT & Gestalt Therapy: For practical symptom management and present-moment awareness.
Primary Specializations
OCD Treatment (I-CBT Specialist)
Chronic Illness & Disability Advocacy
Graduate Student Mental Health & Academic Burnout
Professional Burnout & High-Functioning Anxiety
Asian & Asian American Cultural Identity
Childhood Trauma & Relationship Dynamics
A Little About Me
When I’m not in the office, I am likely diving into a haunted house novel, walking my black Labrador, Luther, or practicing aerial silk and martial arts. I believe in the power of movement and storytelling to keep us grounded.
Ready to find clarity? I am currently accepting virtual clients across Maryland. Let’s demystify the path forward together.
LGP14188
Client Testimonial:
“Dear Stride Forward Counseling, and Sai Peterson.
Working with Sai Peterson has been one of the great fortunes of my life. Her professionalism, method, and practice of therapy is excellent. I have been in and out of therapy for the last few years of my life and met with professionals in many different contexts: emergency counselors, CBT therapists, and so on. Sai demonstrates a gift and capacity to listen to her client and then curiously pull away at the several layers of stories, details, and pain. She then calmly invites you to sit in the discomfort without judgment, breathe in, and seek peace.
Sai has a gift for bringing calm through her inquiry and demeanor that can be a rare encounter for someone like me who is so conversational, outgoing, and long-winded. I remember in our first few months of speaking, I found myself anxiously winding myself up by over-rationalizing my own anxious relationship with love and romantic relationships. I am embarrassed to recall that I was very much like a dog chasing a squirrel around a yard and thinking, “Once I get that squirrel, I will finally understand and heal my broken heart!” Very patiently, Sai helped me slow down and be aware of myself. She helped me to investigate pain, anger, and sadness with curiosity and compassion, instead of hypocrisy and poison. As a trained sociologist, I commend Sai’s qualitative method of inquiry and curiosity. She is an expert in managing complex emotions and yet is assertive and firm when it comes to affirming and reassuring her clients.
She is able to explain her methods, practicingphilosophy, and is very transparent with her clients. She often used evocative imagery and metaphor to explain how it can feel to be anxious or feel overwhelmed. A few of these were “riding the wave” of emotions, or just letting the water flow past you without panicking. I found strength in our conversations and felt the courage to confront many ofmy own past wounds. She has helped shape the way I navigate the world, my emotions, and own mind.
There is much more I wish to say, but as Sai knows very well, I often get carried away when I talk about something that I’m passionate about. I have long been worried about this eventual transition from receiving care to not be, but I feel that I can encounter the anxiety with confidence in myself. Sai helped me to be able to do that! My feedback is to please take good care of Sai Peterson so that she can continue to take good care of others. She is a very talented professional, and a good human being, and those are worth everything.”