A specialty division of Float On Counseling
Float On Anxiety & OCDSpecialized online therapy for anxiety and OCD in South Carolina and Florida
Structured, evidence-based treatment with licensed specialist Joel Schmidt, including a dedicated fear of flying program and optional VR exposure practice.
Specialties
What I treat
Anxiety & panic
Constant worry, panic attacks, health anxiety, and phobias. Treatment targets the avoidance and reassurance that keep anxiety going.
View →OCD
Intrusive thoughts and compulsions, including checking, reassurance seeking, and mental rituals, treated with ERP and ACT.
View →Specific phobias
Heights, driving, bridges, enclosed spaces, animals, storms, vomiting, and other fears that lead to avoidance, treated with step-by-step exposure.
View →Fear of flying
A structured program for dread before trips, panic on board, or avoiding flights altogether. Includes my Willing to Fly workbook.
View →
Why a specialist
Why specialized treatment matters
Anxiety and OCD run on a cycle: a fear shows up, you do something to feel safer, and the relief teaches your brain the threat was real. Over time the fear grows.
That's why some well-meaning approaches can backfire. Lots of reassurance, digging into every worry, or steering around triggers can feel helpful in the moment and still make symptoms stronger. Specialized treatment is designed to break the cycle instead of feeding it.
Methods
ACT and ERP, step by step
ERP
Exposure and response prevention is the leading treatment for OCD and phobias. You face fears gradually, at a pace we agree on, without the rituals that keep them going.
ACT
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps you stop fighting anxious thoughts and sensations, so you can act on what matters even when anxiety shows up.
Measured progress
We set concrete goals, build a plan in steps, and track progress, so you can see what's changing from week to week.
VR practice
Virtual reality practice, when it helps
Some fears are hard to practice on demand. You can't book a flight every week or find a high balcony between sessions. For situations like these, exposure can include virtual reality: realistic 360° scenarios you step into with a headset, at a level you control.
VR is optional, and it's a bridge rather than the destination. Research supports it as an effective step in exposure therapy, especially for phobias like flying and heights. Lasting change still comes from facing the real thing, so every plan ends in real life: the actual flight, the actual drive, the actual trigger.
How it starts
From first call to finishing
Book online
Choose a free consultation call or go straight to a first session through the secure booking page.
Map it out
We pin down what's happening, what you've tried, and what keeps the cycle going, then agree on a plan.
Build skills
Early sessions build ACT skills and set up your exposure steps, from easier to harder.
Practice and taper
You work through the steps, using VR first if it helps, then in real life. We space sessions out as you need them less.
Your specialist
Joel Schmidt, MA, LPC, LMHC
I'm a licensed counselor with about 15 years of clinical experience, specializing in anxiety, OCD, and fear of flying using ACT and ERP.
In 2017 my wife and I founded Float On Counseling in Tampa, Florida. It has grown into a multi-office group practice with a team of therapists. Float On Anxiety & OCD is its virtual specialty division, focused entirely on anxiety and OCD.
Fees
$235/ session
50–55 minutes. Private pay. I provide superbills and can help you check your out-of-network benefits. Many clients get a meaningful portion reimbursed.
$1,200/ month
Concierge Program: four 60–75 minute sessions, direct access between sessions, and flexible scheduling.
$0/ consult
A short free consultation to see whether we're a good fit before you commit.