Zach Appenzeller, PsyD

About Dr. Zach Appenzeller

I am a Licensed Psychologist specializing in evidence-based treatment for eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and mood disorders in children, adolescents, and adults. I work extensively with individuals and families facing complex or longstanding challenges: high-acuity cases, tangled co-occurring presentations, and those who have not responded to prior treatment.

My approach is collaborative, active, and grounded in the strongest available research. In addition to weekly outpatient therapy, I provide 1:1 treatment intensives for eating disorders, OCD, and anxiety, delivered virtually in 40+ PSYPACT states or in-home across South Florida, particularly when these conditions co-occur, or when they impact eating and weight.

I also work extensively with the patients earlier treatment hasn’t reached: people who have been in therapy before, sometimes more than once, and gotten their symptoms under control without ever feeling better underneath. Cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure-based treatment are the gold-standard behavioral approaches, and they anchor everything I do. But when they take the behavior as far as it can go and something underneath still hasn’t shifted, my expertise in schema therapy reaches the emotional core that standard cognitive-behavioral intervention cannot, so change is not only rational and behavioral, but felt at the emotional level where these patterns live. That is what makes the relief lasting.

I previously served as the Founding Director of the UTHealth Houston Center for Eating Disorders, where I built and led a comprehensive program spanning outpatient, IOP, PHP, and inpatient care. Designing and running a full continuum of eating disorder care taught me exactly what each level can and cannot do. It was there that I began developing the FBT-Anchored Modular (FAM) Model, my framework for delivering intensive eating disorder treatment in a personalized, modular way. It is anchored in Family-Based Treatment, with concurrent treatment modules built out as each patient's willingness and clinical picture require. I completed several years of specialized training in cognitive-behavioral, family-based, and temperament-informed treatments under some of the foremost experts in the field (detailed below).

I have also served on the faculty of McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston (where I received the Dean’s Teaching Excellence Award) and the University of Houston–Clear Lake, where I taught doctoral- and master’s-level courses on evidence-based treatment and psychotherapy skills. I regularly train and consult for other providers and organizations seeking evidence-based guidance, and I frequently present to parents, school counselors, and students, translating research into practical tools that strengthen early identification and effective intervention.

Today, I serve as a Clinical Assistant Professor in Baylor College of Medicine’s OCD and Related Disorders Program, where I supervise the clinical work of externs, doctoral interns, and postdoctoral fellows within an NIH-funded study on pediatric anxiety and OCD.

What It Is Like to Work With Me

I am not what most people picture when they think of a psychologist: no neutral affect, no practiced therapeutic distance. I am fully in the room: laughing when something is funny, direct when directness is what’s needed, genuinely curious about and connected to the person in front of me.

If you are seeking specialized, evidence-based care for yourself or a loved one, I welcome the opportunity to explore whether working together would be a good fit.