Cali C Werner PhD, LCSW

Social Worker
708 East 19th Street
Houston, Texas 77008
Phone: 713-526-5055
Narrative of Services:

Cali Werner, Ph.D., LCSW, CMPC is the Director of Referral Relations and behavior therapist at the OCD Institute of Texas. As an undergraduate from Rice University, Cali competed as a Division I collegiate distance runner winning nine conference titles, and an Honorable Mention All-American in the 10k while battling OCD. Her most recent athletic success was competing in the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon and placing as first female Houstonian in the 2023 Houston Marathon. Cali’s personal experience with OCD led her to specializing her career to help others obtain evidence-based care. Cali is passionate about anxiety, OCD, and mental health in athletes, which led her to starting Athlete Rising, LLC, where she sees athletes with OCD and related anxiety disorders, in addition to working to help improve performance mindsets. Cali has written a Children’s book titled Anxious Annie, for the purpose of helping children learn to vocalize anxious feelings. She is dedicated to informing the public through advocacy and education on mental illness and evidence-based treatment.

Cali’s practice is primarily for OCD, specific phobias, perfectionistic tendencies, and distorted thinking patterns. Through professional and personal experiences, she is dedicated to helping others obtain that life-changing sense of hope, freedom, resilience and confidence that evidence-based care provides.

Training Description:

Cali’s clinical interests and areas of expertise include OCD, athletes’ repetitive and ritualistic performance inhibiting behaviors, confidence, and anxiety surrounding performance in sport.

Diversity Statement:

I completed my undergraduate at Rice, and my master’s at Baylor. While at Rice as a student-athlete obtaining my degree in Sport Management, I was diagnosed with OCD.

Treatment changed my life. My love for my sport reignited as OCD tendencies dissipated. All this to say, my personal experience pushed my career transition into mental health. In 2020, I competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon. I now have a love for my sport again thanks to my own therapy experience.

My current research on OCD and perfectionism in athletics in addition to my own personal experiences with OCD coincides with my love for running. I am dedicated to raising awareness and speaking on behalf of those with mental illness by educating, providing resources, and hope.