ocd therapy for teens and adults IN MA, CT, and VA

OCD is characterized by recurring, unwanted thoughts, images, urges, or doubts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental rituals (compulsions) that are often used to find relief from anxiety and uncertainty. 

OCD can look very different from person to person. Although OCD is often associated with visible behaviors such as excessive handwashing or checking, many compulsions are less obvious.

Compulsions can be mental as well as physical. You may spend significant amounts of time analyzing a thought, mentally reviewing an event, seeking reassurance, comparing possibilities, checking how you feel, or trying to prove to yourself that something is or is not true.

Some common signs of OCD include:

• Experiencing intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, or urges
• Repeatedly checking or seeking reassurance
• Avoiding people, places, objects, or situations that trigger anxiety
• Mentally reviewing conversations, memories, or past events
• Repeatedly analyzing or “figuring out” what a thought or feeling means
• Trying to achieve certainty about a situation or decision
• Engaging in rituals or routines to reduce anxiety or prevent something bad from happening
• Feeling a need for things to feel “just right”
• Spending significant time ruminating or trying to resolve doubts
• Feeling distressed by thoughts that seem inconsistent with your values or identity

OCD can look quite different from person to person. My approach to treatment is collaborative and individualized, drawing from both Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). We will work to better understand how OCD is showing up in your life and help you develop ways to respond differently to OCD while moving toward the life you want.

ERP is an evidence-based treatment for OCD that involves gradually and intentionally approaching situations that trigger OCD while practicing resisting compulsions. This does not involve forcing yourself into situations before you are ready. We will identify patterns of avoidance and compulsive behaviors and develop an approach to practicing new responses at a pace that feels manageable to you. Over time, ERP can help you learn that anxiety and uncertainty can be tolerated without relying on compulsions to make them go away.

ACT is an approach that focuses on helping you develop a different relationship with your thoughts and emotions. ACT teaches skills for noticing uncomfortable thoughts/feelings without automatically getting caught up in them or trying to control them.

ACT can be particularly helpful for OCD where the urge to analyze, avoid, and/or seek certainty about an intrusive thought can keep the OCD cycle going. ACT can help you practice allowing thoughts and feelings to be present without treating them as problems that need to be solved.

ERP and ACT can complement one another in the treatment of OCD. ERP gives you the opportunity to practice responding differently to OCD, while ACT can help you develop the mindset and skills to stay engaged in that process.

The goal is not to achieve complete certainty or to never experience intrusive thoughts again. The goal is to help you spend less time responding to OCD and more time engaging in relationships, activities, and experiences that matter to you.

My approach is collaborative, individualized, and paced according to your needs. We will begin by developing a clearer understanding of your OCD and the ways OCD has been affecting your daily life. We will identify patterns that may be keeping the OCD cycle going and develop treatment goals that are meaningful to you.

You do not need to feel completely confident or ready to overcome OCD before starting therapy. We will work together to develop an approach that feels manageable while continuing to move toward your goals.

If OCD is taking up significant time, creating distress, or interfering with the life you want to live, therapy can help you develop a different relationship with your thoughts and uncertainty.