Separate Therapist for OCD?

Is it considered “normal” or at least acceptable in the eyes of medical professionals to have a separate therapist exclusively for OCD? I’ve been working with my current therapist for over a year now and I couldn’t imagine not having her in my life. I’ve never genuinely cared about or felt as comfortable with a therapist before and the last thing I would ever want is to stop seeing her. With that being said, I see her for (and she specializes in) my CPTSD, DPDR, trauma history, etc. and my OCD diagnosis was realized in the midst of this treatment. I already see her twice a week and I’ve been wondering if staying focused on our treatment goals together while seeking treatment for OCD/ADHD elsewhere might be helpful. Just curious if anyone else has dealt with similar circumstances.

CloudGazer82

Date posted: 2d

Can you see both?

_srmal

Date posted: Yesterday

@CloudGazer82 I think that’s what I’m wondering actually lol!! Like if that’s “acceptable” in the behavioral health field

melogan517

Date posted: 2d

I have a general therapist and a therapist here on NOCD! They’re both aware and okay with it!

_srmal

Date posted: Yesterday

@melogan517 That’s wonderful and super helpful to know!! Thank you for your reply :)

Anonymous

Date posted: 2d

I think it would depend more on billing and the type of therapist. I had a short term therapist stop care with me after learning I have a NOCD therapist, but for longer term care it's common to have different specialists. I think your idea makes sense and there shouldn't be billing issues I can think of, but that would really be the only issue.

_srmal

Date posted: Yesterday

@Anonymous Okay that was my exact thought as well, regarding insurance billing specifically. If you’re comfy answering, was this what caused them to stop care with you? I’ve been worried that even just discussing the option could jeopardize this great therapeutic relationship that already exists, if it’s considered like offensive you know?

Anonymous

Date posted: 18h

@_srmal So the other therapist was more like short term care and while that is why she stopped care she had said that we would still do a call the next week before ending to see where I'm at and if I needed the support. So definitely a special case scenario, she was more like a crisis behavioral health professional. I don't think they'd be offended but I can not say for sure, I can at least say that most professionals understand we need a care team and can't just rely on one person for everything. If it helps, I had stopped seeing my PCP for a year and saw someone else, but when that PCPs office shut down I went back to the original PCP. She was not offended and did not hesitate to help me with everything I needed.

OCDrecovering

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2d

I have a general therapist I've seen for years weekly and a new OCD therapist weekly too. For billing, they treat different things. As long as it's all good insurance/billing-wise, why not? They both help me with different things and know about each other 😊

_srmal

Date posted: Yesterday

@OCDrecovering This is genuinely so comforting to know. Thank you SO much for replying! Do you happen to know if they bill different CPT codes or just different diagnosis codes? Totally okay if you’re not sure :)

OCDrecovering

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 18h

@_srmal Oh I've no idea on the exact specifics but I definitely recommend looking into it. Fingers crossed for you for an easy time navigating this! 🤞🏼

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User type: Staff

Date posted: 2d

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