“There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.”

— John Green

Treatment for OCD

What is OCD? 

OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. An individual with OCD often has repeated, distressing thoughts and images that feel uncontrollable and threatening. They can be violent, disturbing, and contradict the individual's value system. The individual then responds to the obsessive thoughts with a compulsion. The compulsion can be an action or a mental event. The cycle becomes a trap that can consume hours a day. For many, OCD can feel like a prison.

Symptoms of OCD

OCD sufferers cannot use logic to talk themselves out of the "sticky" thought. Their mind tells them that the only response is a compulsive action. The OCD cycle includes intrusive, doubting thoughts and this compulsive action. Part of the reason that the compulsion repeats is that the individual constantly doubts that they completed a task, such as being clean enough.

Symptoms of OCD include:

  • Obsessive fears of harming others.

  • Doing the same action over and over again for hours despite receiving reassurance from others that they don't have to. 

  • Shame and beliefs that the individual is harmful or bad.

  • Feeling intense emotions such as fear, disgust, or frustration about the intrusive thoughts or images.

  • A sense that tasks aren't completed or are not "just right" and must be completed.

  • Obsessive thoughts that won't go away.

  • Constantly thinks about past events that never happened.

  • Engaging in compulsions to alleviate obsessive thoughts.

Left untreated, you may find that compulsions become more complex and time-consuming. Anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression can arise. Left unchecked, a person's job or relationships can also be negatively impacted. OCD can also worsen if not managed. That's why it's essential to work with a highly-trained professional to diagnose and treat your OCD through Exposure and Response Prevention.

Think you might have OCD? Try these self-assessment tools:

Types of OCD

Some types of OCD revolve around cleanliness, sex, violence, traumatic events, and religious rituals. Underlying these themes is a concern that is a core fear that is relational. The OCD sufferer usually fears they could hurt a loved one or negatively impact others.

Can OCD be treated with therapy?

Absolutely. OCD is best helped with Exposure and Response Prevention, which can be a difficult therapy. However, I am very skilled at meeting a client where they are and pacing the therapy in a way that lessens the discomfort.


My clients appreciate the blend of structure and flexibility in our process. They feel encouraged without feeling forced into a mold or pushed too fast. 


Here are a few types of therapy and treatments that we use:

  • Exposure and response prevention

  • Coping skills

  • Meditation and breathing techniques

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy

  • Recognizing obsessions

  • Resisting compulsions

  • Learning to reduce fear of fear

  • Acceptance of uncertainty

Also, if you have a partner with OCD, you may also need support for your own understandable, intense emotions. Contact Ruth to determine whether individual or couples therapy would be most helpful.

Exposure and response prevention treatment for OCD

Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is considered 70% effective in treating OCD. 

ERP involves creating a hierarchy of feared situations:

  • The individual faces one obsessive theme at a time. 

  • During the exposure, the individual will resist the compulsion and work to cope with the uncertainty. This treatment works by creating boredom and habituation with the obsessive thought and creates a pattern of not engaging in the compulsive behavior.  

  • If the obsessive thought is a fear of hurting oneself with a knife, for example, the individual might start with a script about a knife, work up to pictures of knives, look at videos of people using knives, and then finally hold a knife during a session. 


Clients report getting their lives back after completing treatment with Exposure and Response Prevention. Often clients are so happy with our work that once they find ways to manage their OCD, we work together on other struggles. 

My training and background in OCD

Treatment of OCD is my specialty, and up to 50% of my clients are OCD sufferers. I'm an active member of the International OCD Foundation, worked for an OCD telehealth platform, and received OCD training in the Philadelphia area. I also teach Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at Bryn Mawr College of Social Work.

Ready to return to a fuller life and manage OCD?

Let's create a collaborative treatment plan that can help you find relief. Complete this form, and Ruth will be in touch within 1 business day.

Client Stories

Resolving OCD

Jose was a PhD student who came to therapy because of worry-based rituals that could consume several hours each day. He reported that a psychiatrist and former therapist had determined he met criteria for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. 

He performed rituals for washing, dressing, and completing school work. Before dressing, he felt compelled to go back and forth between his room and the bathroom while tapping objects 100 times. He believed that if he did not, God would punish him by hurting his mother and father. He also believed it was a mistake that he was accepted into his PhD program and that he needed to say 100 prayers in the lab every day. If he did not, he feared his advisor would discover he was incompetent and kick him out of school.

Jose knew his rituals were a problem because of the amount of time they took, and because his former partner moved out and ended their relationship.

Exposure and Response Prevention Helped 

Through therapy that involved Exposure and Response Prevention, Jose learned not to respond to his urges to engage in the rituals. He found out that performing the rituals strengthened his beliefs. If he stopped carrying out rituals, the anxiety that came from skipping them would pass. He had to work incredibly hard, but he was able to drastically reduce and sometimes eliminate the rituals. This freed up hours each day released him from some of his anxieties, brought him a profound sense of self-confidence.