Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) helps you practice responding differently to unwanted thoughts, feelings, and situations without strengthen the OCD cycle. This takes power away from the obsessions and provides more freedom to choose what you do without OCD, anxiety, or emotions choosing for you.

Together, we’ll design ERP activities that involve intentionally facing your fears while resisting compulsions, including mental reviewing, checking, reassurance seeking, and avoidance. These activities create opportunity for new learning - that you can do more than you think you can and experience uncertainty and discomfort without having to resolve every doubt or follow OCD’s demands. We’ll choose activities connected to your goals and practice applying what you learn to everyday life.

ERP is the foundation of this treatment, supported by skills drawn from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). These include exploring your values, mindfulness, understanding your emotions, and learning to manage distress.

You can also expect to learn long-term management strategies to prepare for OCD flare-ups. This includes knowing how to involve your support system, overcoming barriers, and practicing self-compassion.

Before Your First Session

We will have a brief phone call to discuss why you are seeking treatment and discuss whether we are a good fit. This will be a good time to answer any questions you may have. You will then complete intake paperwork and a pre-intake assessment through a secure client portal. These questions help me understand your concerns, symptoms, treatment history, and what you hope to gain from therapy. This won’ t need to be filled out perfectly, we will go over it together. The purpose is help me understand your needs from the beginning so we can make the best use of our time.

Your first session

Our initial session is 90 minutes, giving us time to understand what brings you to therapy and how it affects your daily life. We’ll develop an understanding of your anxieties, obsessions, compulsions, avoidance, and other concerns. We’ll identify what matters to you and what you want to work toward.

We’ll begin outlining a treatment plan, including gaining an awareness of what ERP looks like for you, and identify initial next steps. You’ll have space to ask questions and get a feel for how we’ll work together.

Ongoing Individual Sessions

Individual sessions are 50 minutes, typically scheduled weekly at the start of treatment. Before each appointment, you’ll complete a brief pre-session check-in about your symptoms, progress, challenges, and note anything you’d like to address in the session. This helps us use our time intentionally and keep treatment focused on your goals.

We’ll review your progress and barriers, practice ERP activities together, and plan activities to practice between sessions. We’ll use the Enlivened Approach treatment guide to reinforce what we cover and support your practice between appointments.

Treatment length varies based on your needs and goals. A typical course of ERP involves 12–20 sessions, though some people need fewer or more. You don’t need to commit to a set number of sessions upfront. We’ll discuss your goals and regularly review your progress together.