OCD & Anxiety Therapies
Therapy for intrusive thoughts and compulsive behavior with gold-standard Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)—tailored to your symptoms and goals.
Face-to-face connection in a comfortable Ventura office. A good fit for clients who live locally and prefer in-person therapy for OCD and anxiety conditions.
Online therapy with HIPAA-compliant Telehealth from anywhere in California. Great for busy schedules and people who live outside Ventura County. Hybrid options are available.
Therapy for intrusive thoughts and compulsive behavior
OCD can feel like you're on a mental loop of overanalyzing and reviewing. Rituals tend to require more and more time with each passing year. The content of unwanted thoughts brings intense doubt, shame, and anxiety. Despite your best efforts to let the thoughts and rituals go, it feels like you're stuck...
The experience of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) varies from person to person, but the general criteria is the presence of obsessions and compulsions that cause distress and impair important areas of life.
Obsessions are persistent, unwanted thoughts, images, and urges, experienced as intrusive and unsettling. These thoughts feel "sticky," meaning it's very challenging to let them go. OCD sufferers may assign the content of their thoughts deep meaning about who they are as a person or about the safety of their relationships and loved ones. OCD presents in diverse ways, but sufferers commonly have a heightened sensitivity to threat and are vigilant with efforts to prevent tragedies of loss, harm, or moral failure.
Compulsions are mental, physical, or avoidance behaviors that feel like you're being compelled to do even when you don't want to. People with OCD use compulsions for a variety of reasons, but at their core they are driven by the desire to stay safe. In an attempt to prevent scary or uncomfortable feelings and bad things from happening, OCD becomes a coping mechanism for fear.
Compulsions can be visible, like repeated hand washing or checking of the stove, or they can be an invisible mental rumination of spiraling on an overthinking rollercoaster, praying, counting, or repeating phrases to oneself silently.
I encourage people who suffer from OCD to have hope. With the help of specialized therapy—especially Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)—it's possible to strip obsessions of their power and stop all compulsive behavior. With the support of a specialist, you can put an end to overthinking patterns that keep you suffering. It's possible to create a new life where you are no longer haunted by obsessions and compulsions. Request a consultation to learn more.
Common OCD struggles | Ventura, CA
Intrusive thoughts replay on a loop and pull you away from the life you want. With help, you can learn to stop ruminating and reclaim your life.
Psychotherapy Approaches | Ventura, CA
ERP is the gold-standard first line treatment for OCD. Triggers are gradually faced while refraining from compulsions and avoidance. Develop mastery over anxiety with repeated practice in the context of a supportive therapeutic relationship.
OCD has several related conditions that can be thought of as part of an OCD spectrum. At this time the formally recognized related disorders include: Hoarding Disorder, skin picking (Excoriation Disorder), hair pulling (Trichotillomania), and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).
Although OCD was officially given its own category and removed from the Anxiety Disorders section of the DSM 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition) in 2013, many experts consider OCD and all anxiety disorders as existing along a spectrum due to the shared prevalence of obsessive worries often combined with compulsive reassurance seeking, compulsive avoidance, and intense difficulty with uncertainty.
There are some obsessive-compulsive conditions that don't include the same type of anxious distress or fears something bad may happen as characterized in OCD, but instead involve compulsive or repetitive behavior on its own. These conditions include compulsive or binge eating and compulsive internet use or what some call "internet addiction."
Common obsessions include fears of contamination, fears of harming oneself or others, fears of losing control or losing something of great importance, worries about symmetry, relationships, morals, identity, and bodily functions.
Compulsions often present as repeated hand washing, checking behaviors, online research, reassurance seeking, arranging items in a particular manner, avoidance, and invisible mental rituals such as rumination or overthinking about a particular topic while in an anxious emotional state.
Mental rituals may include counting, praying in an excessive manner outside of a religion's generally accepted norms, or repeatedly analyzing or reviewing the subject of one's thoughts. Since rumination is an active mental behavior, we can learn to stop the behavior with the help of therapy.
I see clients in-person in Ventura or virtually throughout the state of California.
My compassionate and straightforward approach helps you feel supported and understood as you actively work towards starting a new chapter. Contact to get started.
“Do not be afraid to face your difficulty. Turn toward it. Lean into the wind. Hold your ground.”
The exact cause of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is not fully understood, but at this time it is believed to be a combination of genetic loading (runs in families), temperamental, and social environmental factors. People with OCD commonly have personality traits like high neuroticism, which can make one vulnerable to anxiety disorders and depression.
Effective treatment for OCD typically involves Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy, an exposure-based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. ERP is considered a highly effective first line treatment for OCD. ERP helps sufferers confront their fears in a gradual and therapeutic manner while stopping compulsive behaviors that perpetuate the OCD cycle. Some OCD sufferers are helped with a combination of ERP and psychotropic medication. The decision to take medication is a personal choice between you and your prescriber.
Licensed Therapist
I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the founder of Ventura OCD Therapy. I specialize in evidence-based treatment for OCD and anxiety using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and related approaches. My goal is to help you break free from the anxiety cycle so you can live a life that feels meaningful and authentic.
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Articles and News
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Pure O OCD, sometimes called Pure Obsessional OCD, can feel like you can’t get out of your head. Intrusive thoughts make you feel stuck in a negative thought loop. When people refer to “Pure O,” they are describing an OCD presentation in which physical compulsions (e.g., excessive hand washing or repeated checking) are not present…
Seeking reassurance is a normal part of being human. Checking in with a friend about how we handled something can reflect good self-awareness and a desire for growth. Like most aspects of human psychology, reassurance seeking exists on a continuum. In some situations it is healthy and adaptive. In others, it can be problematic. The…
