OCD, ANXIETY AND PERINATAL THERAPIST, ONLINE IN NEW YORK, MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND

Helping you face fear without letting it run your life.

Individual therapy for OCD and anxiety, pregnancy and postpartum, and burnout. Warm, direct and honest, by secure video or phone, with over 20 years of experience in mental health.

Book a free 15-minute consultation → How I can help
LICSW Certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C) Trained in ERP for OCD Secure video and phone sessions

You're doing everything right, so why does it still feel this hard?

Maybe the thoughts won't stop, the checking takes over, or the calm you expected after the baby never arrived. Maybe you spend your days caring for everyone else and come home with nothing left for yourself.

None of this means something is wrong with you. It means you have been carrying a lot, often quietly and often alone. Therapy is a place to set some of it down and learn a different way through.

Therapy with me may be a good fit if you are…

  • Stuck in constant "what if" thinking
  • Checking, seeking reassurance or replaying things over and over
  • Avoiding places, people or foods because of fear
  • Holding yourself to impossible standards
  • Lying awake running through everything that could go wrong
  • Trying to conceive and feeling the strain every month
  • Pregnant or postpartum and not feeling like yourself
  • Having scary thoughts you are afraid to say out loud
  • Giving everything at work and coming home empty
  • Saying yes to everyone except yourself

You don't have to keep carrying it alone.

Book a free 15-minute consultation →
Annemarie Bello, LICSW, PMH-C, therapist at Bello Therapy
Meet your therapist Hi, I'm Annemarie

Annemarie Bello, MSW, LICSW, PMH-C

Welcome. I am a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience in mental health and psychiatric crisis intervention. In my private practice, I specialize in helping adults navigate anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), burnout, perfectionism, and the profound transition into parenthood.

As a Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional, I am experienced in supporting individuals and their partners through fertility challenges, pregnancy complications, and postpartum mood disorders, including perinatal anxiety and OCD. My clinical expertise also includes treating health anxiety, social anxiety, and emetophobia.

Additionally, I am passionate about working with healthcare professionals who are seeking relief from burnout, perfectionism, and deep-seated people-pleasing tendencies.

Prior to opening my private practice, I spent years working in emergency rooms, medical units, child welfare, the prison system, home environments, and psychiatric crisis centers. These diverse, high-intensity settings have deeply informed my trauma-informed approach to care. Today, they allow me to meet you with profound empathy, absolute non-judgment, and a steady understanding of how deeply our past experiences shape our present healing.

  • Licensed to practice in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island
  • Master's in Clinical Social Work, Boston College
  • Bachelor's in Psychology, Syracuse University
  • Member, Postpartum Support International and the International OCD Foundation
Let's talk →
Postpartum Support International Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional badge, Annemarie Bello

Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional through Postpartum Support International, and a member of the International OCD Foundation.

Therapy can help us cross the bridge from where we are to where we want to be.
Annemarie Bello, MSW, LICSW, PMH-C
What I offer

An OCD, anxiety and perinatal therapist with deep experience in a few areas

Every client receives one-on-one therapy by secure video or phone. These are the areas where I have specialized training and the most experience. Each one is available anywhere in New York, Massachusetts or Rhode Island.

OCD therapist: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

Specialized, evidence-based treatment for adults living with OCD and related anxiety disorders. ERP is structured and collaborative: together we approach the thoughts and situations that trigger anxiety while practicing not doing the compulsion, and the anxiety loses its grip. I also offer Inference-Based CBT (I-CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and 75 and 90-minute intensive ERP sessions for exposure work.

  • Intrusive thoughts and compulsions
  • Perfectionism and "just right" OCD
  • Health anxiety and emetophobia (fear of vomiting)
  • Social anxiety and panic attacks
  • Postpartum and perinatal OCD
75 and 90-minute ERP intensives Ask about ERP →

Perinatal therapist: pregnancy, postpartum and fertility

Support for women and their partners who are trying to get pregnant, are pregnant, or are postpartum, as a certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional (PMH-C). I work with fertility challenges, pregnancy complications, and postpartum mood disorders including postpartum depression, anxiety and OCD. Partners and family members are welcome in sessions when that would help.

  • Fertility challenges and trying to conceive
  • Postpartum depression and perinatal anxiety
  • Postpartum OCD and intrusive thoughts about your baby
  • Pregnancy complications and birth trauma
  • Adjustment to parenthood and identity changes
  • Relationship strain after a baby
Certified PMH-C Perinatal support →

Anxiety therapist: stress, burnout and life transitions

Anxiety therapy for when worry, burnout, perfectionism or a big change is taking more than its share of your life. Practical, warm and direct, drawing on CBT, ACT and DBT skills, at a pace that fits you.

  • Generalized anxiety and chronic worry
  • Stress, burnout and perfectionism
  • People-pleasing, boundaries and codependency
  • Relationships and family conflict
  • Self-esteem, career difficulties, divorce and separation
Adults, by telehealth Talk about anxiety →

Therapist for nurses, physicians and healthcare professionals

Confidential burnout therapy for people who spend their days caring for others. Many years of working in hospital settings means I understand shift life, moral injury, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and how hard it is to ask for help when you are the one who usually gives it.

  • Burnout and compassion fatigue
  • Anxiety and intrusive thoughts about mistakes
  • Perinatal mental health for clinicians
  • Flexible video and phone sessions around a clinical schedule
Flexible scheduling Support for clinicians →

Other areas I work with

My clinical approach

I draw on theory and tools from several evidence-based treatments and fit them to you rather than the other way around:

Tap any term to read what it means.

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Where I see clients

Online therapy across New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, wherever you are

Every session is by secure video or phone, so where you live within these three states does not matter. What matters is that you are physically in one of them when we meet, which is a licensing requirement. Many of my clients join from home, from a parked car between appointments, or from a private office.

New York

OCD, anxiety and postpartum therapist for New York

My practice is based in Rochester, and I see clients by telehealth across New York State: Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, the Hudson Valley, Long Island and New York City. An online OCD therapist, perinatal therapist and anxiety therapist, without the drive.

Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Westchester, Long Island, NYC

Massachusetts

Online OCD, anxiety and perinatal therapist for Massachusetts

Licensed in Massachusetts, with roots in Boston where I trained at Boston College. I work with clients across the state, from Boston and the North and South Shores to Worcester, the Cape and the Berkshires, including new and expecting parents, nurses and physicians, and adults living with OCD.

Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, South Shore, Cape Cod, Springfield

Rhode Island

Telehealth therapist for Rhode Island adults and new parents

From Providence to Newport and everywhere in between, Rhode Island clients meet with me by video or phone. Specialized care for OCD, postpartum depression and perinatal anxiety, burnout, and life transitions, without a drive across the state.

Providence, Warwick, Cranston, Newport, South County

How we work together

Telehealth, private pay, and a focus that stays on you at your pace

My practice is fully telehealth. We meet by phone or secure video on a HIPAA-compliant platform, which means you can see me from home, your car between appointments, or wherever you have privacy, anywhere in New York, Massachusetts or Rhode Island.

What to expect

  1. A free 15-minute consultationWe talk by phone or video about what is bringing you to therapy and whether we are a good fit. No obligation.
  2. A first session that is about youWhat is happening now, what you have tried, and what you want to be different. We decide together how often to meet.
  3. Steady, practical work at your paceWeekly 50-minute sessions to start, with 75 or 90-minute intensives when ERP work calls for it. You will leave sessions with things to try.

Book a free 15-minute consultation →

Your right to a Good Faith Estimate

Under the No Surprises Act, health care providers must give clients who do not have insurance or who are not using insurance an estimate of the expected cost of medical services, including psychotherapy. You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency services before you schedule a service, or at any time during treatment. If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. Keep a copy of your estimate. For questions or more information, visit cms.gov/nosurprises.

Fees and insurance

Bello Therapy is a private-pay practice. Payment is due at the time of service by credit card, FSA or HSA card, or Venmo.

  • 50-55-minute individual session$195
  • 75-minute intensive ERP session$245
  • 90-minute intensive ERP session$275

Choosing private pay keeps the focus of our work on you, your goals and the treatment that fits your needs, rather than on an insurance company's requirements for diagnosis, treatment or session frequency. That matters most in specialized work like OCD and ERP, where the approach needs to be individualized and privacy and flexibility count.

Many plans include out-of-network benefits that reimburse part or all of the cost. I provide a superbill with everything you need to submit a claim. I recommend calling your insurer before we begin to ask about out-of-network mental health coverage, your deductible, the reimbursement rate, and how to submit claims. I cannot guarantee whether or how much your insurer will reimburse.

Questions people ask before a first session

Frequently asked questions

How does the free 15-minute consultation work?

We talk by phone or video for about 15 minutes. You tell me what is bringing you to therapy, I explain how I work, and we both decide whether it feels like a good fit. There is no obligation. You can book a time with the button at the top of the page.

Where are you licensed, and do I need to live in one of those states?

I am licensed in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Licensing rules require that you are physically located in one of those states during our sessions, so you can be anywhere within them, including at home, at work or traveling in-state.

What is ERP, and why do you use it for OCD?

Exposure and Response Prevention is the treatment with the strongest research support for OCD. Together we gradually approach the thoughts and situations that trigger anxiety while practicing not doing the compulsion that usually follows. Over time the anxiety loses its grip and you start to feel confident and free. It is structured and collaborative, you set the pace, and I also offer 90-minute sessions when longer exposure work is helpful.

Are you an OCD specialist?

Yes. OCD and related anxiety disorders are the center of my practice. I am trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Inference-Based CBT (I-CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I am listed in the International OCD Foundation's provider directory, and I offer 75 and 90-minute intensive sessions for exposure work. Online sessions mean you can work with an OCD specialist from anywhere in New York, Massachusetts or Rhode Island.

Do you take insurance?

Bello Therapy is a private-pay practice. Many clients use out-of-network benefits and get reimbursed for part of the cost. I provide a superbill after each session or each month that you submit to your insurer. See the fees section above for details.

What happens in the first session?

The first session is mostly about getting to know you: what is happening now, what you have tried, what you want to be different. We will also talk about how often to meet and what approach makes sense. You do not need to prepare anything.

Can my partner or a family member join a session?

Yes, when it would help and with your permission. This is especially common in perinatal work, where a partner's understanding and support can make a real difference.

Do you offer therapy for OCD in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, or only New York?

All three. I am licensed in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and ERP for OCD works very well by video, so clients in Boston, Worcester, Providence or anywhere else in those states get the same specialized care as clients near me in Rochester.

Do you work with postpartum anxiety and postpartum OCD?

Yes. This is one of my specialties. I am a certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional, and I work with pregnant and postpartum clients on anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts and OCD, as well as the adjustment to parenthood. Sessions are by video, so you can meet with me while the baby naps.

Do you see healthcare professionals?

Yes. Many of my clients are nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians, therapists and other clinicians. I offer flexible video and phone sessions that work around a clinical schedule, and I understand the particular pressures of caring for others for a living.

How long is a session, and how often do we meet?

Standard sessions are 50 minutes ($195), usually weekly to start. For ERP work I also offer 75-minute ($245) and 90-minute ($275) intensive sessions, which give more time for exposure practice. We decide the rhythm together and adjust as you progress.

What's the difference between postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression and postpartum OCD?

They overlap and often show up together. Postpartum depression tends to feel like heaviness, numbness or hopelessness. Postpartum anxiety is constant worry and feeling on edge. Postpartum OCD brings unwanted, intrusive thoughts, often about harm coming to the baby, along with checking or avoiding to feel safe. All three are common and treatable, and having intrusive thoughts does not mean you would act on them. As a certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional, this is work I do every week.

Where else you can find me

Verified listings and professional memberships.

Psychology Today Psychology TodayVerified profile International OCD Foundation International OCD FoundationListed provider, resource directory PSI Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional Postpartum Support InternationalCertified PMH-C provider Kindred Connection Kindred ConnectionRochester perinatal mental health directory

If you are in crisis right now

This website and contact form are not monitored around the clock. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For a mental health emergency, call or text 988 (988lifeline.org), or in Massachusetts call or text the Mass Help Line at 833-733-2445 (masshelpline.com). You can also text HELLO to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line, or call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-852-6262.

Let's work together

Ready to talk with an OCD, anxiety or perinatal therapist?

Send a note and I will be in touch shortly, usually within one business day. Or skip the form and book a free 15-minute consultation directly.

  • (617) 942-0354
  • [email protected]
  • Monday to Thursday 9 am to 7 pm, Friday 9 am to 3 pm. All sessions are online, for clients anywhere in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
  • Based in Rochester, New York. Telehealth only, no office visits.
Book a free 15-minute consultation →

Please do not include detailed clinical information in this form. It is for scheduling and general questions only.

Free 15-minute consultation