Specialized OCD Treatment for Adults

For the 3% of us with extra specific worries

Online in San Francisco & all of California,
Massachusetts, New York, and Florida

OCD, and all its related conditions in the obsessive-compulsive family, can make the smallest things feel overwhelming, scary, daunting, and dangerous.

And at the worst times, truly shitty. You do not like living this way, and have probably tried a few (thousand) times to change. If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t fix my OCD/obsessive-compulsive stuff by myself, nor have I ever met anyone who has. Fortunately, whenever you’re ready, there is an excellent treatment just for us.

Smiling person with long blonde hair standing in front of a wooden fence.

Welcome to the club!

I have been specializing in OCD and other obsessive-compulsive disorders for several years, but I guess you could say I have a lifetime of experience. Yep, I have them too!

I know exposure and response prevention (ERP) sounds like a terrible idea at first. Even so, it changed my life, and if your brain is anything like mine, it can change yours too.

Therapy with me is practical: you can cry and talk about your feelings (here for it!), yet we also get things done, using the same gold-standard treatment used by the big names in the OCD and anxiety world.

Exposure & Response Prevention: A quick introduction

I could talk about ERP all day, and I do in my spare time! The short version:

ERP = teaching your brain to have a less intense anxiety response to your triggers

I cannot emphasize that enough! Learning to respond adaptively to anxiety after it starts is important, and we will cover that. But the process of change in ERP is helping your brain learn that when you encounter your triggers, it does not have to put you in a state of “fight or flight” in the first place.

Note: That probably sounds too good to be true considering all you’ve been through. Do consult other ERP therapists and review research on effectiveness to feel more confident before proceeding with treatment. And read on - I have a whole page coming up on ERP.

What do you treat?

OCD

At any given point, ~90% of my clients have OCD (often along with other cool stuff on this page). It’s not easy, but those of us with OCD and these related conditions are also lucky there’s a treatment for us that works extremely well. We’re six decades into using ERP for OCD (a century into exposure therapy for anxiety) and it’s helped a wild number of people get better, myself included. Join the dark side!

OCD’s Relatives

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)? Illness anxiety? Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) like compulsive skin picking (excoriation), hair pulling (trichotillomania), or nail-biting? Intense social anxiety? Generalized anxiety? Panic attacks? Phobias? Guess what! ERP is still the treatment of choice, with tweaks here and there to fit each one, and a closely related treatment for BFRBs called HRT/ComB.

Misophonia

Sound sensitivity sucks. Having a name for it and more recognition in the fields of psychology and medicine? Slightly better! But seriously, we finally have techniques for reducing your exposure to irritating sounds and proactively approaching tough situations when you decide to stick them out. No cure yet, and no ERP for this one, just way more effective management, leading to dramatic distress reduction. A great second choice, at least in my case.

Meet Reno the therapy bunny!

Reno says hello! He prefers to be a floor bunny, so will likely be not-seen and not-heard during our calls. From wherever he is on the floor, he wishes you a successful and rewarding therapy journey.

Schedule a free 20-minute phone consult

If you cry on the call that’s fine