Do you find yourself...
The ‘what ifs’ don't take days off.
And the thing about OCD is that the more you try to reason with it, the louder it gets. You check one more time because checking feels like relief. You ask for reassurance because the answer feels like relief.
But it's temporary,and you always end up coming back, trying a new angle, hoping this time it finally sticks.
That's what happens when your brain gets caught in a loop it doesn't know how to exit.
This may be something deeper and more cyclical than generalized anxiety.
The goal of treatment isn't to get rid of the thought. It's to change your relationship with them so the loop stops having so much power, while building distress tolerance surrounding fear and uncertainty.
That loop keeps spinning because the compulsion teaches your brain that the thought was a real threat worth responding to.
THE OCD CYCLE
An intrusive thought appears
(the obsession)
Distress occurs
You do something to relieve that distress
(the compulsion)
The relief is real, *but temporary*
The triggering event happens again
The good news is learning how to NOT engage with that uninvited guest is possible. They might get loud. They might get obnoxious. But you don't have to listen.
Loud, obnoxious, impossible to ignore & distracting you from the whole reason you were throwing a party in the first place.
OCD is the uninvited party guest who keeps showing up and drawing attention to themselves
OCD is the uninvited party guest who keeps showing up and drawing attention to themselves
Intrusive thoughts about hurting yourself or someone else that feel horrifying and won't stop
OCD shows up in a lot of places people don't expect:
OCD shows up in a lot of places people don't expect:
Harm OCD
Constant doubt about whether your partner is right for you, whether they love you, whether you love them
Relationship OCD
The project that's never quite done, the email that gets rewritten six times, the thing that looks great to everyone except you
Perfectionism OCD
Religious OCD / Moral Scrupulosity
Primarily intrusive thoughts without obvious external compulsions, though the compulsions are usually there, just internal
Pure O
If you've been in therapy for what a previous therapist called "anxiety" and it never quite got to the root of things, there might be a reason for that.
OCD and generalized anxiety look similar on the surface. But the treatment is fundamentally different. And a therapist who isn't trained in OCD can accidentally make it worse by engaging with the compulsions without realizing it.
“But I don't have to wash my hands 50 times a day”
“I just like things a certain way.”
“I'm just a little anxious. Everyone's anxious.”
OCD isn't just about germs or needing things to be orderly. Those are real subtypes, but they're just two of many.
Religious OCD is a lifetime of wondering whether you're believing the right thing, doing the right thing, praying enough, being good enough. It's intrusive thoughts about sin, about hell, about whether God is angry with you. It's the checking, the confessing, the reassurance-seeking that never quite settles anything.
On its own, that's an enormous amount to carry.
Pair it with religious trauma, where the very system that caused harm is also the thing your OCD is fixated on, and it can become genuinely debilitating.
The intrusive thoughts aren't just uncomfortable. They're about going to hell for not believing the right way. The compulsions aren't just rituals. They're tied to a belief system that told you eternal consequences were real.
That specific intersection is something I understand from both a clinical and a personal place. If that's what you're dealing with, you don't have to explain it from scratch.
Of all the OCD subtypes I work with, Religious OCD (also called Moral Scrupulosity) is at the intersection of everything I do.
Religious trauma and OCD together is its own specific kind of hell.
Religious trauma and OCD together is its own specific kind of hell.
Talking about your intrusive thoughts isn't the same as treating them.
There are two approaches I come back to again and again with OCD clients.
Insight alone can’t break the OCD cycle.
We build a fear hierarchy together. Ranking your fears from least to most distressing and we work through it systematically, at a pace that's challenging but not overwhelming.
Exposures don't always happen the way you'd expect. I've had clients send a text in session because there was no reason to wait. I've pulled up videos, photos, whatever the exposure called for. ERP gets creative when it needs to.
The goal isn't to eliminate anxiety. It's to prove to your brain, over and over again, that it can tolerate the discomfort without the compulsion. That's how the loop loses its power.
ERP is exactly what it sounds like: we expose you to the things that trigger your OCD, and we practice not doing the compulsion.
ERP — Exposure and Response Prevention
That's where values come in. When we know what actually matters to you — what kind of person you want to be, what kind of life you want to live — the hard work of exposure has a reason behind it. You're not just tolerating discomfort for the sake of it. You're doing it for something.
I like to think of it as WTF — What's the Function? When an OCD behavior shows up, we get curious about it. What is it trying to do? What is it protecting you from? And is that protection actually serving you, or is it running the show?
ERP tells you what to do. ACT answers the question nobody thinks to ask first: why would I want to?
ACT — Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
ACT — Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Tolerating uncertainty while committing to what matters most — that's where the real change happens.
This is what it looks like when OCD stops running the show.
Checking, researching, seeking reassurance — and still not feeling okay
Tolerating uncertainty without the compulsion
Reasoning with intrusive thoughts for hours
Through this work, clients move from:
Through this work, clients move from:
OCD running your schedule, your relationships, your day
Living according to your values, not your fears
Feeling like something is deeply wrong with you
Understanding what's actually happening and why
A therapist who engaged with your compulsions without realizing it
A therapist who knows the cycle and won't feed it
Letting thoughts pass without engaging
Not sure if what you're experiencing is OCD?
This is probably a good fit if...
- You've been diagnosed with OCD and want to work with someone who actually specializes in treating it
- You suspect you might have OCD but have never been formally assessed
- You've done ERP before with good results and want to continue that progress
- Your OCD is tied to religious trauma or faith deconstruction
- You're ready to do the hard work — exposures included — not just talk about the problem
This might not be the right fit if...
- You're looking for a therapist who will help you think your way through your obsessions (that approach tends to feed the cycle rather than break it)
- You're not ready to sit with discomfort as part of the process. ERP is challenging by design
- You're looking primarily for anxiety management without addressing the OCD cycle directly
Here's how to know if it's for you.
That's a completely valid place to start. Reach out and we'll figure it out together.
This work isn't for everyone.
This work isn't for everyone.
Session frequency is something we figure out together based on your goals and what builds the right momentum
In-person in Chandler, Arizona or virtually across the state
The Details
$150 | 50-minute individual session
If you haven't been formally assessed for OCD, I administer the Y-BOCS (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale) to establish a baseline and identify your specific OCD subtypes
Great question — and a really common one. Anxiety and OCD look similar on the surface, which is part of why OCD gets misdiagnosed so often. The key difference is the cycle: OCD involves a specific loop of intrusive thoughts, distress, and compulsions that temporarily relieve the distress before the thought returns. If that sounds familiar, it's worth exploring. I administer the Y-BOCS assessment for clients who want a formal baseline, and we can talk through what you're experiencing on a consultation call.
How do I know if I have OCD or just anxiety?
It might have been because your previous therapist wasn't trained specifically in OCD treatment. A therapist who treats general anxiety can accidentally reinforce OCD by engaging with the content of obsessions — helping you think through the what ifs, offering reassurance, processing the thoughts as if they need to be resolved. ERP works differently. We're not solving the thoughts. We're changing your relationship with them. That distinction matters enormously.
I've been in therapy before and it didn't really help my OCD. Why would this be different?
Yes — but not all at once, and not without preparation. We build a fear hierarchy together, starting with exposures that feel challenging but manageable, and work up from there. You're always in the driver's seat. The point isn't to overwhelm you — it's to prove to your brain, incrementally, that it can handle the discomfort without the compulsion.
Does ERP mean I have to do things that scare me?
It can, yes. Constantly asking ChatGPT to help you think through your obsessions is a checking compulsion — it provides temporary relief but feeds the cycle. If you're using AI to manage OCD symptoms, we'll talk about how to do that in a way that doesn't work against you. It's not about avoiding AI entirely, it's about using it without letting it become another compulsion.
I've heard AI can make OCD worse. Is that true?
That's called Religious OCD or Moral Scrupulosity, and it's one of the subtypes I work with most. If your OCD intersects with religious trauma or faith deconstruction, I understand that specific combination from both a clinical and personal place. You can learn more about that work on the religious trauma page.
What if my OCD is tied to my religion or faith?
I don't take insurance. Sessions are $150 for 50 minutes. I offer a free 15-minute consultation call so we can figure out if this is a good fit before you commit.
Do you take insurance?
Yes — I see clients in person in Chandler, Arizona and virtually across the state.
Do you offer online sessions?
