Paige Heckel, OCD & Anxiety Specialist in Longwood, FL

About Paige

Hi, I’m Paige: a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern (RMHCI, FL #IMH28973) at Longboat Counseling Services, working under the clinical supervision of Romina Papadopulos, LMHC (FL #MH16992). I’m trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for the treatment of OCD and anxiety disorders. I provide LGBTQIA+ affirming and trauma-informed counseling for individual adults and couples, in person at our Longwood office or via secure telehealth across Florida. Together, we can create your unique path toward healing.

I received my Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Central Florida. During my practicum, I gained clinical experience working with adults across a wide variety of presenting problems, from mood disorders to sexual trauma. I also completed an internship at Aspire Health Partners working in crisis management, where I developed the skills to work with clients in acute emotional distress and turmoil.

Before counseling, my background was in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), where I worked with children with developmental delays and their families. This work shaped how I understand neurodivergence, advocacy, and the experience of being culturally and ability-diverse in a world that often isn’t built with that in mind. It also taught me a deep respect for the slow, specific, individualized work of change. That’s the same patience I bring into the therapy room.

I am passionate about creating a therapeutic space that welcomes and uplifts diversity in all forms: across identity, ability, neurotype, relationship structure, and sexuality. Therapy with me is built around the idea that there is no one right way to be a person, to be in a relationship, or to have a sex life. There is only the way that is honest and meaningful for you.

I work with clients whose concerns are often hard to bring into a therapy room, and who haven’t always found a therapist comfortable enough with the material to do the actual work. My clients tend to include:

• Adults with OCD and anxiety-spectrum disorders. I’m trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold-standard treatment for these conditions
• Survivors of sexual trauma: including childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, intimate partner sexual violence, and the cumulative effects of repeated harm
• Adults navigating sexual dysfunction: including low desire, erectile or arousal concerns, painful intercourse, performance anxiety, and the secondary effects of trauma on sexual functioning
• Couples wanting to rebuild intimacy: whether after trauma, distance, infidelity, or simply the slow drift that long relationships can fall into
• LGBTQIA+ clients working on identity, coming out, gender exploration, and the relational and sexual dimensions of being yourself in a world that doesn’t always make room for you
• Clients in the kink, polyamorous, or ENM communities. Sex-positive, kink-affirming care without surprise or judgment
• Teens dealing with identity, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and the developmental work of becoming yourself
• Adults working through self-esteem, body image, anxiety, depression, and life transitions
• Clients in crisis. I have specific training in crisis management and can hold space for acute distress

If you’ve held back from therapy because the things you actually need to talk about feel impossible to say out loud, my office is built to make that easier. There is nothing you can bring in that I will be shocked by, and no part of your life or your sexuality that needs to be hidden or apologized for to do the work.

• Sexual trauma recovery: including childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, and intimate partner sexual violence
• Sexual dysfunction: low desire, arousal difficulties, painful sex, performance anxiety, mismatched libidos in couples
• Intimacy and connection: including rebuilding desire, communication around sex, and exploring what a satisfying sex life can look like for you
• LGBTQIA+ identity work: coming out, gender exploration, navigating family and community
• Sex-positive and kink-affirming care for individuals and partnerships outside the monogamous default
• Self-esteem and body image, particularly as they relate to sexuality and embodied experience
• Anxiety and depression, including the kind that lives in the body and shows up sexually
• Crisis intervention for clients in acute distress, with training from my Aspire Health Partners internship
• Adolescent self-esteem, identity, and emotional regulation
• Working with neurodivergent and developmentally diverse clients, informed by my background in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

My approach is existential and emotion-focused: meaning the work is rooted in the bigger questions of meaning, connection, and how you actually want to live, alongside the felt, in-the-body emotional work that creates real change. For sexual trauma, I work at the pace your nervous system can handle, with attention to stabilization, body safety, and the slow rebuilding of trust that this work requires. For sexual dysfunction and intimacy concerns, I bring the same care and combine it with practical psychoeducation, communication skills, and the concrete tools couples need to actually shift the dynamic at home.

I integrate cognitive-behavioral therapy, including ERP for OCD and anxiety, with existential and trauma-informed approaches. For couples, I draw on relational and attachment-based work. My approach is collaborative: we’ll figure out together what tools and pace fit your specific situation, and we’ll adjust as the work unfolds.

If anything I’ve described resonates, I’d be glad to talk. I offer a free 15-minute consultation by phone or email so you can ask questions, get a feel for how I work, and figure out whether we’re the right fit. No pressure, no commitment, just a conversation.

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