Abby Candelari
Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
- Accepting New Clients
- Virtual, In-Person & Phone
- Daytime & Afternoons
Works With
- Teenagers (13+)
- Adults (18+)
- Families
Rates
- Cost Per Individual Session: $275
- Cost Per Family Session: $325
Areas Of Focus
- Anxiety Disorders
- Depression
- Postpartum Anxiety
- Postpartum Depression
- Parenting Stress
- Life Transitions/ Adjustment Issues
- Substance Use Disorders
License # 39281
Dr. Abby Candelari is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist offering individual therapy for adults, with specialized expertise in OCD, maternal mental health, and substance use disorders. She also serves as a clinical supervisor and directs the Coping Resource Center’s OCD program. If you are struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety during pregnancy or postpartum, or substance use concerns, Dr. Candelari brings exceptionally deep training and experience to this work.
OCD & Anxiety
Dr. Candelari completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the OCD Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine, where she treated children, adolescents, and adults with OCD and related anxiety disorders using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold-standard treatment for OCD. She continues to supervise trainees at the Baylor OCD Clinic and directs the OCD program at the Coping Resource Center.
Maternal Mental Health & Substance Use
Dr. Candelari is an Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine and serves as Program Director for the Maternal Perinatal Addiction Treatment (MPAT) Clinic at Ben Taub Hospital, where she works with pregnant and postpartum women experiencing anxiety, depression, serious mental illness, and substance use disorders on a multidisciplinary team. This dual role means her clinical work is continuously informed by current research and best practices.
If you’re curious about therapy, Dr. Candelari offers a free 15-minute consultation.Â
Therapy Modalities
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
- Motivational Interviewing (MI)
- Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP)
Training & Experience
- Bachelor’s in Psychology- University of Texas at Austin with University Honors and Departmental Honors
- Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology - University of Houston
- Doctorate in Clinical Psychology- University of Houston
- Pre-doctoral internship- The OCD Program at Baylor College of Medicine
- Post-doctoral Fellowship- The OCD Program at Baylor College of Medicine
- Assistant Professor and Licensed Psychologist, Harris Health/Baylor College of Medicine
- Psychology Program Director, Maternal Perinatal Addiction Treatment (MPAT) Clinic
- Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD
- Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) training workshop
- Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology through PSYPACT
- Motivational-Interviewing for Substance Abuse Treatment
- Practicum Supervisor: University of Houston
States Licensed In
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Life Outside Of Work
I love being a mother, and am passionate about helping other mothers. I love to spend time outdoors. I always knew that I wanted to be a psychologist, even as a young girl. I find so much joy from my work and am passionate about being a therapist.
More About Abby:
Dr. Candelari grew up in Austin and completed her undergraduate degree at UT Austin, where she graduated with University and Departmental Honors and received the Unrestricted Presidential Endowed Scholarship, one of the university’s most prestigious awards. She went on to earn her doctorate at the University of Houston, where she also received multiple fellowships and research awards, including a Texas Psychological Foundation Research Proposal Award to fund her dissertation.
Read More
Dr. Candelari has extensive training in exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD. Dr. Candelari completed her clinical internship at the OCD Clinic at Baylor College of Medicine, where she treated adults, adolescents, and children with obsessive-compulsive disorder and related anxiety disorders. After obtaining her doctoral degree, she stayed on with the OCD Clinic at Baylor to pursue her postdoctoral fellowship. As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Candelari continued to treat individuals with obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and provided supervision for two research studies providing treatment to parents of children with autism and anxiety disorders. She continues to supervise trainees at the OCD Clinic.
Currently, Dr. Candelari is an Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. She is committed to treating mothers struggling with mental health during pregnancy and the postpartum period. She currently serves as the Program Director for the Maternal Perinatal Addiction Treatment (MPAT) Clinic at Ben Taub Hospital, where she treats pregnant and postpartum women with anxiety, depression, serious mental illness (SMI), and substance use disorders on a multidisciplinary team.
Dr. Candelari has co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has co-authored five book chapters. Dr. Candelari’s research interests lie in developmental psychopathology, and specifically focus on interventions for parents of anxious children, temperamental and parental risk/resilience factors, and how these traits influence psychopathology throughout development. She values continuing education. Dr. Candelari completed the Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) training workshop, which is an efficacious parent-based treatment for child and adolescent anxiety disorders and OCD, in 2021. She has presented at, and frequently attends, national and local conferences including the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) and the Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (ABCT).
