OCD Therapy in Sacramento, CA
And online across California
Have intrusive and unwanted thoughts, images, or urges taken over your life? Do you find yourself spending hours each day doing everything you can to get rid of them or avoid thinking about them? If so, you might be struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). OCD is often seen as a form of anxiety, but it’s much more complex than that. It takes an average of 15 years to be diagnosed with OCD and receive proper treatment, largely because many mental health professionals don’t have the training to diagnose and treat it properly. Thankfully, we do.
Does any of this sound familiar?
You’ve been in therapy for anxiety before, but no matter how much work you do, your anxiety never seems to get much better
You spend hours each day ruminating on each thought, researching things on the internet, or asking the people around you for reassurance, only to never actually feel better in the long run
You’ve tried to confide in family or friends about what’s going on in your mind, only for them to say, “Just stop thinking about it so much!”
At Evoluer Counseling, we know OCD and our therapists are here to help. Many of our clients come to us feeling paralyzed by the cycle of OCD and not knowing where to start; we’ve helped them learn to manage intrusive thoughts, cope with the underlying anxiety, shame, and discomfort, and get back to spending their time on the things that matter most to them.
Ready to get started? Enter your information below to request an appointment or schedule your free 15-minute consultation. Read on for more information about OCD and what to expect from treatment.
OCD is more than a quirk
It can be debilitating and life-altering. Those who struggle with OCD know just how much it can affect your day-to-day life. It can put strain on your relationships, impair your ability to work, and impact your school performance. It can make everyday tasks like brushing your teen, locking your door, or grocery shopping feel overwhelming and exhausting. One of the hardest parts of living with OCD is how isolated it can make you feel. If you’ve tried to confide in loved ones about your intrusive thoughts, you may have heard things like “Why would you even think about that?” or “That’s never going to come true, just don’t worry about it.” It can be hard for people to truly understand just how unhelpful this advice is. If it were that easy, you would have done it already! Unfortunately, many therapists also don’t understand, often misdiagnosing OCD as generalized anxiety and offering ineffective and sometimes harmful treatment. If previous therapists have tried to teach you to use logic to rationalize away your thoughts, or use coping skills to calm your anxiety without actually getting to the root cause, you may be feeling hopeless and like nothing is ever going to work.
The right help is available
At Evoluer Counseling, our therapists are experts in diagnosing and treating OCD. We’re trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), two of the leading treatments for OCD. We’ve been successfully treating OCD for years and have helped clients achieve lasting results.
What can I expect from OCD treatment?
If you’ve done ERP before, you know how life-changing it can be. If you haven’t, it’s understandable that this type of therapy may feel daunting or even scary. After all, who wants to be exposed to their worst fears again and again?? We like to say that ERP is simple but not easy. It’s a simple formula that clients quickly get the hang of, but it can be emotionally challenging at first. It requires trust in the therapy process and in the therapist, but there’s a reason it’s known as the “gold standard” for OCD. The average amount of time needed for ERP to be effective is just 12 sessions, with many clients seeing significant improvement in even less that that. Our therapists are here to offer a compassionate and kind approach to ERP and only move at the pace with which you feel comfortable.
Therapy with us also includes ACT, which primarily involves learning to notice your thoughts without feeling consumed by them (this may feel impossible right now, we know!) and refocusing your time and attention on the things you value most. Feeling intimidated by all this therapy jargon? Don’t worry, we’ll walk you through it one step at a time.
Are you ready to break free from the cycle of OCD, stop your anxiety from running the show, and reclaim hours of your day lost to intrusive thoughts and debilitating compulsions? Click the button below to request an appointment or schedule your free 15-minute consultation today.