Specialized OCD Treatment for Adults
For those of us stuck in extra interesting thought cycles
Online in San Francisco & all of California,
Massachusetts, New York, and Florida
OCD, and its fellow obsessive-compulsive disorders, can make the smallest tasks feel overwhelming, exhausting, daunting, or dangerous.
And at times, truly shitty. It’s not like you like living this way—in fact, let’s assume you have tried to right the ship a few (thousand) times already. If it makes you feel any better, I couldn’t figure out how to exit my OCD/obsessive-compulsive cycles on my own, and I’ve never heard of anyone else doing it either. But the most important thing is that when you’re ready, there is an excellent way out just for us.
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. I have them too!
I tried the same treatment I now provide and got way better. From my experience on both sides of the therapy equation, I describe exposure and response prevention (ERP) as “therapy that sounds scary but isn’t.”
Therapy with me is both practical and emotional: you can share any parts of your life to whatever degree works for you and cry, laugh, problem-solve together, and make meaning. Simultaneously, we set treatment goals and meet them, using the same gold-standard therapy used by the big names in the OCD and anxiety world.
Exposure & Response Prevention =
physical therapy for your brain
People often assume ERP = anxiety management. In fact, the process of change is your brain learning through repeated experiences that it’s safe to tolerate a little bit of uncertainty and just make well-reasoned decisions and move on. Even more specifically, it learns the “fight or flight” reaction isn’t necessary in the situations that currently trigger your obsessive-compulsive loops. Instead, it can let you handle those situations with logic and conserve all the energy it would have spent freaking out. All of that is good news for you: effective anxiety management is great, but having less anxiety in the first place is even better.
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, about 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 and 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.
Meet Reno the therapy bunny!
Therapy bunny is a stretch, but in any case, Reno says hello! He prefers to be a floor bunny, so he will mostly 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
