A good relationship with your therapist is the foundation for effective therapy. The relationship is built on trust, mutual respect, and empathy. It’s wise to take your time finding someone who makes you feel connected, heard, valued, and hopeful about therapy. It’s important that your therapist customize their approach to you — taking into account your goals, personality, cultural contexts, important aspect of your identity, and value system.

In ERP, you will learn about the nature of OCD, including its cycle of obsessions (intrusive thoughts, images, or urges) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors or mental acts). You'll also learn about the role of avoidance and safety behaviors in maintaining OCD symptoms.

We collaborate to identify specific triggers, obsessions, and compulsions that will be targeted in therapy. We would work together to develop a hierarchy of feared situations or stimuli, ranking them from least to most anxiety-provoking.

ERP involves gradual exposure to situations or stimuli that trigger OCD symptoms, usually starting with things lower on the hierarchy and progressing to more challenging situations over time. Exposure can take various forms, such as imaginal exposure (confronting feared thoughts or images), situational exposure (facing feared situations or stimuli in real life), or interoceptive exposure (experiencing physical sensations associated with anxiety).

In ERP, you would gradually learn to refrain from engaging in compulsive behaviors or rituals that are typically used to neutralize or alleviate anxiety. This includes both overt behaviors (such as handwashing, checking, or counting) and mental rituals (such as mental reviewing or repeating phrases).