Therapy for OCD
(Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)
It’s time to get a handle on the things that feel completely out of control.
Always running late because you’re repeatedly checking in on loved ones to be sure they’re safe, or that the door is locked, or that you didn’t leave the oven on? Do you spend a lot of time washing and cleaning, counting, repeating words or phrases, or making sure everything is “just right” before you can do anything else? Do you get bombarded by thoughts and images that don’t reflect who you are or how you would ever act?
If it all seems out of control and you’re ready to get to the bottom of feeling better, we’re here to help. At SideDoor Counseling we specialize in therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
How can we help
Through exposure therapy, we can help you train your brain to understand that you can survive a thought or experience without needing to respond using your current less-than-helpful coping mechanisms.
This type of treatment helps you systematically work through the things that are causing you the most distress or that you’re having the most difficulty getting a handle on.
We’ll begin with the things that feel most manageable and then, in a structured and gradual manner, work up to the things that are more difficult or scary. Instead of avoiding the thought, we teach you how to co-exist with it, and let it pass through you instead of it taking over.
Together, we’ll dig into the ‘whys’ and hows’ of what you’re experiencing, identify your values, and help you gain control over the rituals or tendencies that are keeping you from living the type of life you want and deserve to have.
How do you know if you have OCD tendencies?
Sometimes it can feel like:
- Fear of germs or contamination
- Worried you might hurt someone
- Violent thoughts or images
- Excessive focus on moral ideas
- Fear of forgetting or losing things
- Needing things to be in order
- Extremely focused on superstitions
Sometimes it can look like:
- Excessively double-checking things
- Spending a lot of time cleaning
- Tapping, counting, repeating words
- Arranging or ordering things
- Engaging in rituals driven by fear
- Uncontrolled time spent praying
- Collecting “things” you don’t need
