Anxiety & Behavioral Health Services
(614) 436-5030
Beth T. McCreary, PhD, ABPP
Clinical Psychologist
Dr. McCreary received her doctorate in clinical psychology from The Ohio State University (OSU) in 1999. She completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship that included clinical training from the Anxiety and Stress Disorders Clinic at OSU as well as a research component through Johns Hopkins University. Dr. McCreary obtained her license as a psychologist in 2002 and opened Anxiety and Behavioral Health Services with Dr. Joseph DeCola in 2003. She attained board certification in behavioral and cognitive psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) in 2015.
Dr. McCreary conducts cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for anxiety conditions including generalized anxiety, panic, agoraphobia, social anxiety, phobias, traumatic stress, and obsessive-compulsive conditions. She provides education, individualized guidance, and support to her clients as they engage in exposure with response prevention to respond adaptively to their fears and improve their quality of living. Dr. McCreary incorporates mindfulness practices and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) methods into her work. She has presented on these methods of treatment for anxiety to local practitioners as part of their education.
Dr. McCreary maintains membership in the American Psychological Association, the Ohio Psychological Association, the Association for the Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, The American Board of Professional Psychology, The International Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Foundation, and Mental Health America of Franklin County.
Joseph P. DeCola, PhD, PhD
Clinical Psychologist
Dr. DeCola received a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at The University of California, Los Angeles. His clinical training and research at UCLA was done at the Anxiety Disorders Behavioral Research Program, and he completed a clinical internship at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and Hospital. Before starting his clinical training, Dr. DeCola studied Biological Psychology and received his first Ph.D. from The State University of New York at Albany. In that program, his research focused on basic fear processes. Upon graduating, he accepted a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Behavioral Neuroscience at the UCLA Brain Research Institute to study brain mechanisms of fear. During this Fellowship, he began a collaboration with clinical researchers to apply findings from basic fear research to the treatment of human anxiety disorders. That experience is what inspired him to pursue his second doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at UCLA. Dr. DeCola has authored numerous journal articles on both basic fear processes as well as applied clinical research focused on anxiety treatments.
In 2000, Dr. DeCola relocated to Columbus, became an Ohio licensed clinical psychologist, and continued his anxiety research at The Ohio State University. In 2003, he joined Dr. Beth McCreary to open Anxiety and Behavioral Health Services, a private practice specializing in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders. In addition, Dr. DeCola became a Clinical Assistant Professor in the OSU Department of Psychiatry and accepted the Directorship of Clinical Services for the Anxiety & Stress Disorders Clinic. In 2011, he left clinical practice to accept the full-time position of Clinic Director for the Psychological Services Center in the OSU Psychology Department. In all of these academic appointments, he trained and supervised doctoral students, interns, and residents on the techniques and principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy. In 2016, Dr. DeCola resigned from all academic appointments to return to his primary passion, clinical practice, on a fulltime basis.