Specialized treatment for OCD

You are worn out with dealing with the thoughts or images, if only they could just go away permanently. Right now you are holding tight onto the reassurance and that security blanket that your fear did not happen. That security may be the wash, the double check, or the person that tells you, “you’re fine.” But now the compulsions and the fear are running your day instead of you.  

If you struggle with reoccurring obsessions or intrusive thoughts, it can be awfully difficult to find someone that can relate or even a therapist that knows how to help. It can be an isolating experience and you may be wondering is there any way to make the thoughts go away?

The bad news is there is no magical or quick fix way to make thoughts disappear. It is like the famous saying of try to stop thinking about the pink elephant in the room right now. Unfortunately the more we try to suppress thoughts, the more likely they are to come back.

The good news is there are ways to retrain the way you think & respond to obsessions, to give you more power over them. This has been evidenced through Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy that includes Exposure & Response Prevention interventions.

Common signs of OCD are:

Frequent unwanted thoughts known as obsessions which can include:

-Fears of contamination (self, others or objects)

-Fears of causing harm to others out of impulse

-Unwanted sexual thoughts or ideas

-Religious scrupulosity or unwanted thoughts of blasphemy

-Fears around something needing to be completed to perfection or exactness

-Fears around one’s gender orientation or concerns about partner’s flaws.

Compulsions or rituals follow obsessions & provide temporary relief which include:

-Cleaning, washing or preventing contamination

-Repetitive checking behaviors to ensure harm was not done to others or property.

-Mental rituals which can include reviewing steps to prevent harm or undoing something “bad” with something “good.”

-Reviewing or repeating rituals to ensure something was completed to exactness.

-Compulsive prayer rituals to prevent fears of going to hell.

Get the support you need to overcome OCD

If you are struggling with one or more of the above symptoms, I encourage you to look into OCD counseling. I have experience working with most obsessions and compulsions out there and provide CBT with Exposure and Response Prevention. I am also influenced by the perspective that Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) has brought to addressing OCD related concerns. I have found that including IFS in the therapy allows greater insight and internal resources for helping you navigate the obsessions and compulsions on your own. 

I also have a unique specialty as a Christian counselor that works with religious scrupulosity. With the particular religious scrupulosity obsessions, you definitely want to make sure you are working with someone that truly understands faith & religeous matters. Many secular therapists have no clue how to even address spirituality and may tell you to do things contrary to your beliefs. 

A large part of the therapy will be addressing the compulsions that keep the OCD cycle going. I can help you with ritual prevention exercises that will help retrain how your brain responds to the obsessions. I have worked with many people on finding a newfound freedom from OCD.

Together, we’ll create a strategy that works explicitly for you. Contact me today for a consultation to see how I can help.