You keep trying to find certainty. Your mind keeps finding another question.
Maybe you check, replay conversations, ask for reassurance, or try to prove that an unwanted thought means nothing. The relief comes. Then the doubt comes back.
OCD can make ordinary moments feel like problems you have to solve before you can move on.
I offer ERP-informed and IFS-informed therapy for OCD, with support for intrusive thoughts, rituals, and reassurance-seeking.
Online throughout California · In person in Long Beach
OCD Therapy
When doubt starts running your life
Obsessions are recurring, unwanted thoughts, images, or urges. Compulsions are actions or mental rituals you feel driven to repeat to ease distress or prevent a feared outcome.
The cycle can show up as:
Repeated checking, cleaning, or reassurance-seeking
Replaying memories, mentally reviewing, or trying to get a feeling “just right”
Avoiding people, places, or decisions that trigger doubt
Intrusive thoughts about harm, relationships, contamination, or morality
Religious or moral fears that lead to repeated confession, prayer, or checking—sometimes called scrupulosity
OCD is more than being tidy or worrying occasionally. We take time to understand what is happening for you, rather than treating every difficult thought as a diagnosis.
If faith matters to you, we can respect your beliefs while recognizing when fear and compulsive certainty-seeking are crowding them out.
Here’s what we practice in therapy.
From chasing certainty to living with more freedom.
My work with OCD is informed by exposure and response prevention (ERP) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). We begin with psychoeducation: understanding intrusive thoughts, the OCD cycle, and the ways compulsions can keep it going.
In sessions, I help you practice encountering intrusive thoughts while refraining from rituals, reassurance-seeking, and mental compulsions. We work collaboratively, at a pace shaped around your needs and goals. IFS-informed work offers a way to relate to the parts of you that feel afraid or pulled toward compulsions, while supporting practice with uncertainty.
The aim is to make room for uncertainty without letting rituals decide how you live. Progress can mean:
Spending less time checking, reviewing, or seeking reassurance
Returning to relationships and activities you have been avoiding
Making choices around your values even when doubt is present
This work can bring discomfort, and progress varies. We review how therapy is working and discuss additional support or a referral for specialized ERP treatment when needed.
Read more about ERP from the International OCD Foundation, or explore anxiety and burnout therapy and optional faith integration.
Book a free consultation to discuss your concerns and whether working together is a fit.
Understanding the OCD cycle
- 1. Intrusive thoughtAn unwanted thought, image, or urge appears.
- 2. DistressDoubt or fear creates pressure to find certainty.
- 3. CompulsionChecking, reassurance, or a mental ritual aims to ease distress.
- 4. Temporary reliefRelief comes briefly, but the doubt can return.
The doubt returns, and the cycle can repeat.
ERP-informed work supports practice with uncertainty without relying on rituals. IFS-informed work helps us understand and relate to the parts of you that feel afraid or pulled toward compulsions.