Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD

ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) is considered the gold-standard treatment for OCD, and it’s an approach I use often with clients who are ready for it.

How I Approach ERP

We start with a good amount of psychoeducation — understanding OCD and anxiety, and why ERP works when talking alone often doesn’t. Talking things through can feel helpful in the moment, but it does little to help your amygdala, the brain’s alarm system, learn that something is actually safe. ERP works by gradually facing the things that trigger anxiety, built around an exposure hierarchy we create together.

My Approach to Exposures

I will never ask you to do an exposure I’m not willing to do myself, or that you’re not willing to try. In fact, I often do my own exposures alongside my clients, so you’re not facing it alone.