Nicole McCutchan

I struggled with OCD myself and was misdiagnosed for a fair amount of time. Once I was diagnosed correctly and did ERP, it made a huge difference. I was diagnosed with OCD 15 years ago, and I've seen great results in treatment. But from time to time, I still get affected. That helps me understand the distress members may have.

Therapists are often not trained in the specific therapy that's effective for OCD. If you see a therapist who doesn't practice ERP, you may not get the results you want. With ERP, we teach a specific skill that can make a huge difference.

I have experience with depression, anxiety, trauma, and addiction. I was attracted to those areas because many people struggle with more than one mental health diagnosis. OCD, especially, can cause you to have some depression or anxiety, as well. It's good to know about those conditions and how they interact with OCD.

It will mean facing some of your distress, and it will mean you need to be willing to practice between sessions. But if you're willing to do both of those, you can see great rewards. ERP can be extremely effective because it's teaching you a different way to react to thoughts. It's not about making all thoughts totally disappear forever. It's about becoming more comfortable with those thoughts, so their frequency and intensity decrease over time.

Express that fear to me. We can talk about it and see what your fears are about. I will try to help you become more comfortable with me, so you're not as afraid or embarrassed to share those thoughts.