Therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Evidence-based OCD treatment using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to help you break free from OCD cycles and spend less time controlled by fear, doubt, and compulsions.
OCD can be exhausting. Whether it shows up through intrusive thoughts, sensory experiences, a need for things to feel "just right," or a combination of these, it often pulls people into cycles of anxiety, doubt, checking, analyzing, asking for reassurance, or other rituals that can take up significant time and energy. You may recognize that your fears or behaviors don't always make sense, but the anxiety still feels impossible to ignore.
The good news is that OCD is highly treatable. With evidence-based treatment, you can learn to respond differently to intrusive thoughts or sensory triggers so OCD has less influence over your life.
How OCD May Look
OCD can show up in many ways. You may experience:
Intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that feel unwanted, distressing, or inconsistent with your values, including thoughts that may involve harm or violence
Feeling stuck in cycles of doubt, "what if" questions, or trying to feel certain that you’re making the right choice before moving forward. This may include questioning your relationship, your feelings for your partner, or whether you’re making the "right" decision
Repeatedly checking, researching, trying to figure things out, comparing options, or asking for reassurance to reduce anxiety
Mental rituals such as replaying conversations, reviewing memories, analyzing thoughts or feelings, or trying to understand what they mean about you, your relationships, or your actions
Avoiding situations, people, or experiences because of fear, uncertainty, or discomfort
Feeling responsible for preventing something bad from happening, or feeling like you need to do certain things, avoid certain situations, or think the "right" thoughts to keep something bad from happening
A strong need for things to feel "just right" or discomfort when things feel or look out of place, uneven, or asymmetrical
You don't need to have a specific type of OCD or a formal diagnosis to seek help. Together, we can better understand your experiences and determine the approach that fits your needs.
OCD is more complex than the stereotypes
OCD can take on many presentations and is often more complex than how it’s portrayed in everyday conversation. For some people, contamination fears can lead to time-consuming rituals around washing, cleaning, food preparation, laundry, changing clothes, or creating "clean" spaces and routines to reduce anxiety. For others, OCD may involve a need for order, symmetry, or things feeling a certain way. This can lead to arranging, organizing, rechecking, or repeating actions until things feel "right," taking up significant time and energy. OCD is not simply about being neat, organized, or particular—it involves patterns of thoughts and behaviors that can feel overwhelming and difficult to step away from.
Understanding the difference between everyday preferences and OCD is an important part of providing effective, compassionate treatment.
How We Approach Therapy for OCD
Effective OCD treatment begins with understanding how OCD shows up for you. It’s not about trying to eliminate intrusive thoughts or find complete certainty. Instead, therapy focuses on practicing new ways of responding to anxiety and uncertainty.
Our approach is grounded in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a highly effective, evidence-based treatment specifically developed for OCD. ERP involves gradually facing feared thoughts, situations, or sensations while practicing new responses that increase your tolerance for discomfort and reduce reliance on compulsions or avoidance. We also incorporate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness-based strategies to help you develop a different relationship with intrusive thoughts, emotions, and uncertainty.
Sessions are active and collaborative. We'll work together to understand your experiences with OCD, develop a personalized approach, practice skills during sessions, and identify ways to apply what you learn outside of therapy.
The goal is not to make uncertainty disappear—it’s to help you stop organizing your life around OCD.
Questions We Often Hear
What if I’m not sure whether I have OCD?
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You don’t need to have a formal diagnosis to seek support. Many people come to therapy because they feel stuck in cycles of anxiety, doubt, avoidance, or repetitive behaviors and aren’t sure whether OCD is the right explanation. Together, we can better understand what you’re experiencing and determine the approach that fits your needs.
Will ERP make me face my biggest fear right away?
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Nope! ERP is a gradual, collaborative process. We’ll work together to understand your OCD patterns and develop an individualized plan based on your needs and readiness. The goal is not to overwhelm you—it’s to help you build the skills to respond differently to anxiety, discomfort, and uncertainty.
What if my intrusive thoughts are disturbing or embarrassing?
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Many people with OCD experience thoughts that feel upsetting, shameful, or inconsistent with who they are. Having an intrusive thought does not mean you want it, believe it, or that it reflects your values. Therapy provides a space to understand these experiences without judgment and learn how to respond differently to them.
Why Does OCD Require Specialized Treatment?
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Although OCD often involves anxiety, it's maintained by a specific cycle of intrusive thoughts, uncertainty, and compulsive responses. Treatment that focuses primarily on evaluating or trying to make sense of intrusive thoughts and experiences, providing reassurance, or trying to get rid of uncertainty can unintentionally strengthen this cycle.
Specialized OCD treatment focuses on helping you change your relationship with intrusive thoughts and uncertainty, rather than getting rid of them or engaging with their content. Over time, this helps break the cycle that keeps OCD going and allows you to engage more fully in the things that matter most to you.