Obsessive Compulsive Disorders
Therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorders
Get the mental health treatment you deserve in person or from the comfort of your own home.
Mental health treatment should begin where you are and with your needs. We believe that mental health starts with your thoughts, but it doesn’t end there. Mental health should include how you feel, how your body feels, and everything that’s happening around you. That’s why we take a completely holistic approach.
That’s why we focus on what’s going on in your life through tailored, 1:1 individual therapy that you can do right from the comfort of your own home or in person. It’s designed for you, by you.
You don’t have to figure out all the answers by yourself. You can and should have the life you want.
Think you may have an obsessive disorder?
Take a free assessment about your mental health to see if obsession and compulsion is a part of your life and begin to gain real control back.
Obsessive Compulsive and related disorders are a serious issue. 1
OCD is a serious and chronic disorder in which a person has uncontrollable thoughts (obsessions) and/or behaviors that a person feels the urge to complete over and over and is long-lasting.
Individuals that experience obsessive compulsive disorders also can experience other mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, agoraphobia, and others. It can also lead to a life that feels unfulfilled and lonely.
Mental Health Treatment on Your Terms
Manage Your Symptoms
There is support that OCD and related disorders are an attempt to control the uncontrollable in our lives. As things become more chaotic, this can increase the severity of symptoms. Learn the difference between imagined and real control and develop the skills to be more effective in your life and find inner peace.
Explore Your Past
There is no exact cause to where OCD and related disorders come from, however, there is support that it may partially develop from trauma, anxiety, depression, Autism, ADHD, and other disorders. Find out more about the path that helped to support your need for control and work towards a new path.
Regain Your Control
You’re in control. Through a non-judgmental and honest approach to therapy, you can find out more about yourself at your pace by shaping the sessions based on your comfort. Learn about the difference between REAL and imagined control and how you can regain your life.
Common Sources
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition that can be tough to deal with and affects anyone. It can be caused by many things like family history, brain chemicals, or even things that happened in childhood, like abuse or illness. Sometimes, significant life changes can also make OCD worse.
OCD and related disorders may be connected to biology and genetics. Still, no identified genes or brain functions have been isolated. There is a strong connection to learning these behaviors from other family members, a family history of the disorder, stressful life events, or even a way to manage other mental health needs.
People with OCD might do things repeatedly or have specific routines they feel like they have to follow to feel less anxious. Certain medicines or drugs might also make OCD symptoms worse.
Checking
Fear of being responsible for disasters
Fear of wasting resources by leaving something on or dripping
Fear of losing things by leaving them open or unlocked
Fear of sending something inappropriate through mail, email, or text
Fear of forgetting things
Fear of not fully understanding things
Fear of causing harm to a loved one, including pets, by leaving them in potentially dangerous or unpleasant situations
Checking how the body feels for any signs of illness
Checking for signs related to sexual or violent obsessions
Checking if things are correct or ok in relationships
Checking to see if harm was done to self or others
Checking to see if memories are accurate or ideas are understood
Contamination
Fear of bodily excretions or fluids
Feeling as though germs are migrating or moving from contaminated objects
Being fearful or distressed by garbage or toxic materials, like asbestos
Avoiding public spaces or touching others
Excessive or ritualized hand washing
Disinfecting or sterilizing things
Throwing things away
Frequent clothing changes
Creating clean areas that are off-limits to others
Avoiding certain places or touching things
Symmetry and Ordering
Needing everything to be “just right” and “equal”
Requiring everything to be balanced, like equal number of steps when walking
Needing things to look a certain way, like pillows perfectly aligned or books the same distance to the edge of the shelf
Feeling as though something bad will happen if something is out of place
Feeling compelled to trace the edges of shapes and figures
Making sure there are no mistakes or differences in writing
Frequent rearranging of clothes, shoes, knickknacks, food, pens, etc.
Intrusive Thoughts
Having thoughts that “come out of nowhere” that are focused on harm to self or others:
“I could jump in front of the train right now”
“I could stab myself (or someone else) with this knife.”
“What if that person jumped in front of my car?”
“What if I killed or hurt my pet and I just can’t remember?”
Refusing to stand near things that could be dangerous, like train tracks
Keeping anything that might be dangerous hidden away
Repeatedly checking to make sure you didn’t cause harm to yourself or others
Hoarding
Saving useless items – mail, magazines, clothing, old food, trash, broken items
Holding on to things out of fear that they may be needed in the future
Buying things in multiples (e.g., three shirts, four apples) because it’s a magic number
Buying everything that you touched
Accumulating things because they are contaminated or shouldn’t be touched
Ruminations
Constantly thinking of contamination or germs
Repetitive and distressing thoughts about harming self or others
Obsessive thoughts about mortality or death
Worrying about an imagined future event, like a death or accident
Constantly checking or rechecking things because something might be wrong
Thinking about sexual or violent acts
Constantly questioning self leading to indecisiveness
Is Therapy Right for Me?
Our approach is focused on finding solutions to your experiences.
We use an integrated approach that is tailored to your needs, including maximizing any resources that you may already have. Using an integrated approach of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), we can begin to explore how your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions are connected and influence each other while breaking any cycles that aren’t working for you anymore.
Through our work together, we can isolate triggers and begin to reconstruct their influence on your life, build better habits and communication skills, and learn new and more helpful ways of managing symptoms while reducing their impact on your life.
Ready to find out more and begin your journey of healing?
Questions? We’ve got answers!
I feel so alone. How common is OCD?
Actually, many people in the population experience obsessions and compulsions, up to 28% 2. Out of this number, approximately 2% of people experience these symptoms to the degree that they cause significant problems in their lives or ability to live their lives the way that they wish.
I’m not sure that things are that bad. I’m just a neat freak or a germaphobe.
It is common for people to use the term OCD or other related terms when referring to particular ways in which they wish their environment to look, but this is a misuse of the term and may even minimize the experience of others. OCD is diagnosable when it elevates to the point where it consumes a large portion of your thoughts, times, or behaviors or interferes with relationships with others. If you are unsure, don’t worry. Many people are unsure. We can look at what is happening in your life and see what is the best fit for regaining control over your life.
How can therapy even help?
OCD is commonly treated with both psychotherapy and medication and can help to resolve many of the symptoms that people experience. Our work together will focus on challenging the beliefs both in your current life and how to identify and challenge the parts of your life where they started to take root.
Life can be hard, but getting set up doesn’t have to be.
Types of Obsessive Compulsive Disorders
Organization
Contamination
Intrusive Thoughts
Ruminations
Checking
Hoarding
Find out if your insurance will cover treatment
Most insurance companies cover mental health services. Finding out if your insurance will cover your treatment is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Fill out a simple form and let us do the checking for you.