Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | Therapy in Arizona & Lander, Wyoming
OCD can affect more than thoughts. It may show up as unwanted, distressing thoughts or images, repeated checking, reassurance-seeking, or routines that feel difficult to stop. These experiences can take up time and energy, interfere with daily life, and leave you feeling anxious, ashamed, or stuck. Therapy offers a compassionate space to understand the OCD cycle, practice new ways of responding to uncertainty, and build skills for moving toward the things that matter to you. Our clinicians use evidence-based approaches tailored to your needs, including Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT). ERP helps you gradually face triggers while reducing compulsions and reassurance-seeking. ACT supports you in making room for difficult thoughts and feelings while taking steps toward what matters to you, and I-CBT helps you recognize when OCD’s doubts are pulling you away from what you know in the present.
OCD and ERP: Frequently Asked Questions
We’re here to support you when you’re ready.
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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) involves obsessions, compulsions, or both. Obsessions are unwanted, recurring thoughts, images, or urges that cause distress. Compulsions are behaviors or mental rituals someone feels driven to repeat to reduce distress or prevent something they fear. Compulsions can include checking, seeking reassurance, repeating phrases silently, or avoiding triggers.
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OCD can center on many themes, sometimes called symptom themes. Common themes include contamination or illness, harm or responsibility, checking, symmetry or things feeling “just right,” religious or moral concerns, relationship doubts, sexual or identity-related intrusive thoughts, and fears about health or the body. Some people experience more than one theme, and themes can change over time. These are ways OCD can show up, rather than separate diagnoses.
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Yes. Some compulsions happen privately in a person’s mind. These may include reviewing memories, repeating words or prayers, mentally checking how they feel, or trying to replace or cancel a thought. Reassurance-seeking and avoidance can also become part of the OCD cycle.
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Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy used to treat OCD. In ERP, you gradually practice facing situations, thoughts, or uncertainties that trigger OCD while resisting the compulsions or rituals you would usually use to feel certain or reduce distress. With practice, you can learn that you can handle uncertainty without following OCD’s demands.
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You and your therapist identify the OCD cycle and choose a starting point together. You’ll build a gradual plan of practice steps, often called an exposure hierarchy. Exposures are tailored to your goals and may involve real-life situations, thoughts, or imaginal exercises. Your therapist supports you in practicing response prevention at a pace that feels challenging but manageable.
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No. ERP is planned collaboratively with your therapist and should fit your circumstances, values, and treatment goals. The purpose is to practice responding differently to OCD—not to put you or anyone else in danger. You can discuss concerns and adjust the plan as you go.
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An unwanted thought by itself does not tell you what you want or what you will do. Many people with OCD feel upset by thoughts that conflict with their values. A therapist can help you understand how OCD responds to uncertainty and how to work with distressing thoughts without treating them as proof or seeking certainty about them.
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If unwanted thoughts, rituals, checking, reassurance-seeking, or avoidance are taking up time or making daily life harder, an OCD-informed therapist can help you explore treatment options. ERP is a well-established therapy for OCD; the approach and pace can be tailored to your needs.
