Counseling for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD Therapy for Adults in Colorado

It’s hard to say how things got to this point. It feels like it’s always been normal to turn off the lights so the house won’t burn down, to call your partner multiple times while they’re at work to make sure they’re okay, and to google the crap out of that symptom you’re experiencing so you can make sure you’re not dying. You know it’s not always logical, but it makes sense to you – you’re just trying to keep everyone and everything good and safe, even when other people don’t get it. 

And it always feels innocent enough – “I just need to get some quick reassurance, then I can relax”. And you do relax, at least for a moment. But then the doubt comes creeping right back in. “Wait…what if the door didn’t actually lock? I’ll just check really quick, then I can relax again”... and the cycle repeats. And it takes up So. Much. Time. You are exhausted, but it feels like you can’t stop. You just want to feel better, to be able to relax and to stop worrying so much. But even when you do what OCD is asking you to do, it never fully lets up. You’re sick of feeling out of control, like you don’t actually get to do what you want to do. Because OCD tells you what you HAVE to do. No matter how much you try, it just never seems to end.

I help people with OCD break the cycle of obsessions and compulsions and regain control over their lives.

Together we will make a concrete plan to address the root causes of your obsessions and compulsions, get familiar with your patterns, and interrupt them so you can get back in the driver’s seat of your life. I use a couple of approaches for OCD. One is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), which involves gradual exposure to situations and stressors, while intentionally delaying or refraining from compulsive behaviors. This helps build up your tolerance to discomfort, which over time rewires your brain and decreases fear and anxiety. The other approach I use is Inference-based Cognitive Behavior Therapy (I-CBT), which helps us understand the process of OCD and how obsessional doubts are created in the first place, so we can interrupt the process and prevent it from playing out.

The people I work with report feeling like their lives are more spacious; they can do more of what THEY want to do and less of what OCD tells them to do. They report feeling more in control of their lives as they understand how their OCD works and how to interrupt the patterns that are holding them back.

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