OCD Therapy in Colorado
Specialized OCD Therapy Using IFS-Informed Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
It’s hard to say how things got to this point. Maybe you’re asking a loved one for constant reassurance of something, checking the locks several times a day, counting to a safe number, or washing your hands over and over until they feel clean enough, until they feel just right. You know it’s not always rational, but it doesn’t feel like a choice; it feels like you have to.
At times it seems innocent enough – “I just need 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’re 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. 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 plan to address your personal obsessive-compulsive cycle: getting clear on how the cycle plays out for you, and interrupting it so you can get back to living your life. I use Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy, 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 can decrease fear and anxiety. I also use Internal Family Systems (IFS)-Informed Therapy to deepen your self-understanding and encourage self-compassion every step of the way.
The people I work with say they feel more confident and empowered: they understand how their OCD works and how to interrupt the patterns that are holding them back. They can now do more of what THEY want to do, and not what OCD tells them they have to do. They know they are capable of doing hard things!
Are you ready to find freedom from the OCD cycle and get back to living your life?
OCD Symptoms
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is experienced as:
1.) Obsessions: recurrent, persistent thoughts, feelings, sensations, images, or urges that are intrusive and unwanted, and cause significant stress and anxiety
2.) Compulsions: attempts to suppress, ignore, or neutralize these intrusive obsessions, such as:
Physical acts (checking, tapping, cleaning, arranging, ordering, etc)
Mental compulsions (trying to mentally solve something, thinking a “good” thought to cancel out the “bad” thought, counting, etc)
Reassurance seeking (asking another person for answers, validation, or comfort)
Avoidance (avoiding triggering places, people, things)
Self-criticism/ self-punishment (beating yourself up for having the obsession)
Depressive compulsions (assuming the worst is true and feeling depressed because of it)
3.) Obsessions and compulsions take up at least 1 hour per day
4.) Obsessions and compulsions cause significant distress or impairment in everyday life (relationships, work, school, etc)
How ERP Therapy Treats OCD
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy is the gold standard treatment for OCD. It’s a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy where we purposefully confront obsessions and don’t engage in compulsive behaviors. This breaks the obsessive-compulsive cycle and rewires our brain to respond to anxiety and discomfort in a new, more empowering way. Treatment can be as gradual as it needs to be. What’s key in ERP treatment is that we are gradually increasing tolerance to discomfort. This is the goal of ERP - to prove to yourself that you are capable of doing hard things; you can feel uncomfortable and still keep living the life you want to live!
How IFS-Informed Therapy Treats OCD
Internal Family Systems (IFS) embraces that we are complex beings and have multiple parts (personality traits/thoughts/feelings/etc), and regards these parts like members in a family, all impacting the whole. This framework uses mindfulness techniques and curiosity to explore the many parts of us, fostering self-understanding and compassion. Through this approach, we can get to know the parts of you that experience obsessions and compulsions, and create a more loving and nurturing relationship with those parts, allowing them to soften and trust you over time.
How I Combine ERP and IFS: IFS-Informed ERP
In my experience, both ERP and IFS are powerful therapies in themself. The gold standard treatment for OCD is ERP: there is LOTS of research to support this, making it the go-to evidence-based treatment for OCD. In my work with clients this is where I begin. ERP is great for interrupting the OCD cycle and getting people back on track with their lives. It is hard work, and it is also live-changing.
IFS is more of a gentle approach. It uses mindfulness and curiosity to move towards the parts of you that experience obsessions and compulsions. This approach is different in that it focuses on the relationship between you and these parts (the OCD cycle). Just like any relationship, we can nurture and strengthen it over time, working towards a more understanding and loving relationship overall. When your parts learn to trust you as the leader of your life, they start deferring to you to make decisions. This means you are able to live your life from more of a Self-led place, and less of an OCD-led place.
I like to be able to pull from both approaches so that I can meet people exactly where they’re at. Some people want to jump fully into ERP. Some want to jump fully into IFS-informed therapy. Others find it beneficial to use both, depending on what they’re experiencing at the time. The way I see it is that both approaches lead to the same place: creating freedom from the OCD cycle in a way that is empowering, compassionate, and ultimately Self-led.
What OCD Therapy Can Help With
Contamination OCD
Symmetry OCD
Perfectionism OCD
Not Just Right OCD
Harm OCD
Pedophelia OCD
Sexual Orientation OCD
Emotional Contamination
Scrupulosity and Moral Obsessions
Hyper-Responsibility OCD
Relationship OCD
Meta OCD (obsessing about obsessing)
Real Event OCD
Somatic OCD
Superstitious OCD
Postpartum/ Perinatal OCD
Health Anxiety OCD
Existential OCD
Are you ready to experience freedom from the OCD cycle?
Please contact me to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation and learn more about how therapy can help you experience more peace.