What OCD can look like
OCD involves unwanted thoughts, images, or urges (obsessions) and the things you do to neutralize them (compulsions). Compulsions can be visible or entirely mental.
- Checking locks, appliances, emails, or your own memory
- Washing or avoiding contamination
- Asking for reassurance, confessing, or researching until it feels "certain"
- Reviewing past events or analyzing thoughts for hours
- Intrusive thoughts about harm, relationships, health, morality, or sexuality that feel completely out of character
How treatment works
I use exposure and response prevention (ERP), the leading evidence-based treatment for OCD, alongside Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Together we identify your triggers and compulsions, then build a graded plan. You practice facing triggers while resisting the compulsion, starting with easier steps. ACT helps you relate to intrusive thoughts as thoughts, so they carry less weight.
Common questions
What is ERP?
Exposure and response prevention means facing the thoughts and situations that trigger OCD while practicing not doing the compulsion. Over time the anxiety drops and the urge to ritualize weakens. It is the most researched treatment for OCD.
Is ERP harsh?
No. It's collaborative and gradual. We build a list of exposures together, start where you're ready, and you never do an exposure you haven't agreed to.
Do you treat Pure O or mental compulsions?
Yes. Many people with OCD have mostly mental compulsions, such as reviewing, analyzing, or neutralizing thoughts. ERP and ACT address these directly.