Hey everyone, my name is Stephen Smith and I’m the Founder and CEO of NOCD. I also have OCD, which is why I founded the platform. Specifically, I have “intrusive thoughts OCD”- relationship-based, sexual, and religious thoughts that made me at one point question many fundamental elements of my character. Although google searching for answers to my thoughts was my most noticeable compulsion, my compulsions were mainly mental, where I would reassure myself, mentally review past events, pray, and even check my body for different sensations. Since I didn’t suffer with the “standard symptoms”, I ended up getting misdiagnosed 5 times which caused me to get really severe, drop out of school, and become housebound. While housebound, I started searching my thoughts online which led me to realize that I had OCD. Then, when searching for evidence-based OCD treatment, I stumbled upon exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. Although ERP is extremely effective (about 80% of people with OCD see a significant reduction in symptoms after going through treatment), there was only one therapist in my area who specialized in it. She had a 7 month wait list and charged $250 per session- making the care pretty much inaccessible for me. I got lucky though since my mom, who was desperate at the time to see me get better, found money from a family friend to pay for my treatment. She also called the clinician and begged her to get me off the waitlist. If it wasn’t for her, I probably wouldn’t be here today. After doing ERP with the provider for 12 weeks, I ended up getting better- so much to the point where I was able to go back to school, finish up my football career (I was a college quarterback) and eventually complete my degree. Because I managed the OCD fears by accepting the uncertainty behind them (a core principle behind response prevention), the anxiety over time went away, and the thoughts decreased in frequency as well as in severity (since they didn’t really matter to me anymore). After that happened, I ended up returning back to normal pretty much- feeling as good as I did before my severe OCD onset. That’s when I started pondering the question, “if OCD is so treatable with a good ERP therapist, then why isn’t treatment more accessible to people going through the condition?” It’s a question I’m sure many of you are currently asking or have asked before. Now to the good news....There is no more need to ask that question. Now inside of NOCD, you can do live, face-to-face therapy sessions with a licensed therapist who specializes in treating OCD using exposure and response prevention (ERP). After signing up, all you need to do is open up your phone or laptop and start the session with the ERP therapist. It’s all video-conferencing. It’s the solution that I always wanted when I was going through treatment, so I hope you can find value in it if you are suffering- especially those who are stuck on the waitlist or who live hours from care. Anyways- if you have questions about doing ERP therapy with a NOCD telehealth provider or with another therapist feel free to ask them here. I will definitely give you the pros and cons. Much love!

Thank you so much Jay! The community is here for you. Really appreciate you joining us.

Your kind words mean the world. Thank you so much! I must give all the credit to our team though. We have a whole group of people with deep expertise in software development, OCD treatment (medical, doctorate, and masters level providers), healthcare operations, and marketing working around the clock to help people with OCD get better. Also, I’m sorry to hear how things have been for you recently. Previously did you do ERP with an OCD specialist therapist? That’s where I’d start if you haven’t, since they will teach you the tools to manage your thoughts long term. If you have already seen an ERP therapist, what I’d recommend is you really try to make a special effort to do “response prevention” as much as you can. I once had a small relapse (12 months after remission) and the second wave of ERP was MUCH more helpful. I used every obsession as a chance to practice response prevention. Response Prevention is the key to beating OCD, as exposures happen randomly/unexpectedly at times.

You will get there! Keep accepting uncertainty- that’s the key

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith My Harm OCD tricks me into having memories of things that never really happened

We are changing that. I ran into that exact same issue and it’s extremely frustrating. Between March and July, we will be going live with about 12-15 health plans. Until then, we are offering people a large discount on each session, so they can afford it (a sliding scale, given most people’s need). The therapy is currently $50 per session (discounted from $200 per session).

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith I am from South Africa and I don’t know of any ocd specialists mind do you guys Mind crossing shores it would really help

So happy to hear the live Q&A’s are helpful for you!

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Here’s one of our previous ones: https://youtu.be/-2iSoiMjkec

Thank you so much Andrea! We have an OCD treatment program as well (all live, virtual, visits) and if our therapist think patients are too severe, it would be great to refer to their residential.

Welcome to NOCD! So happy you found us. Always know we are here!

I’m not sure when we will be in NM but I’ll be sure to let you know!

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Also, an opportunity could be to educate yourself fully on OCD. A great self help book is called “stop obsessing” by Dr. Edna Foa.

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Thank you! That’d be super helpful! ☺️

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Ok thanks I’ll check out that book! I’ve heard of it, I think it’s with Reid Wilson also. Edna Foa I’ve heard of too, actually it’s interesting you mentioned her because my therapist has her textbooks and told me he’d be using them as a guide in helping me.

It costs $50 per session today

@Crawfish Can you try updating the app?

@Crawfish Can you message the team on support chat or email them?

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith What do I click on?

@Grace Do you see the therapist button in the top left corner?

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Yes it says toy guys are not in Tennessee. I thought it was online?

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Hi Stephen, thanks for putting this up. Treatment is very expensive. I worked with a young clinician from Dr. Steven Phillipson's clinic and had a horrible experience. He was lower in cost than the $250 but I paid for his inexperience and lack of proper supervision. I got worse. My parents had to step in and take care of me because he lied so much in session I wasnt sure what was real or not. The sad part is that their are many clinicians that are experts in OCD but are profiting off of the illness. Alot are only going into the field bc its quick, easy money compared to working with other populations. I was shocked that such an expert in the field was poorly handling clients. Maybe after putting it out there, he is managing his clinic properly but my experience was horrible and harmful. Thank you for putting this out here but I would like others to be warned about harmful clinicians that are only in this for the money. Its It's crazy for some clinicians to charge $250-$450 an hour just to do cbt. All I got from my clinician were handouts. He had no idea what he was doing. Thank you for this.

@Heythere I’m so sorry to hear about your experience! I had a similar one, so I totally can relate. That’s why at NOCD we are focused on offering only providers with specialty training in OCD and ERP. That’s why we also are looking to make the treatment affordable. The problem you speak of must end! Also, if there is anything I can do to help you get a better therapist, please let me know. If we aren’t yet located in your area, we’ll try to do our best to get there soon. In the time being, I’d be happy to help connect you to someone else.

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith The surprising part is that Dr. Steven Phillipson is well known in the ocd world through various videos online. He is knowledgeable about the field but the clinicians he works with are poorly trained and are not adequately supervised. I dont think hes hiring the right ppl. Thy hey only want to piggyback off his success. I was shocked by the level of care I received. It was poor and supported by Dr. Phillipson. Too many providers are profiting off of ocd and mental health issues with no repercussions. Thank you for this app. I wouldn't recommend anyone to his clinic.

We definitely will try and come to Ireland and the UK

I’m so happy you found what we do helpful! If you can, in addition to seeing your psychiatrist, I’d also strongly consider seeing an OCD specialty therapist who can do ERP with you. ERP+ SSRIs is the gold standard OCD therapy, and ERP is the intervention that leads to the long term progress.

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Your platform has been incredibly helpful! I was actually diagnosed with BPD, OCD and ADHD by my psychiatrist recently which was extremely tough for me. Ever since then I felt very alone, but knowing that I am not the only one going through something like this and hearing stories that I could relate to made me realize I wasn't completely crazy and that what I was feeling was real (as I had doubts about that all the time). Thanks again!!

I don’t know of anybody, but I will try to see if we can get some therapists out there!

Same here with contamination. En race uncertainty, do ERP slowly.dont give up.

Also Zoloft helped my a great amount with the contamination thoughts.

@TempledOut Does it have a cure?

@TempledOut ERP is so difficult. Everyday I promise myself not to think about it and leave it to destiny, but it seems that what I experience is much stronger than I thought. Also it starts affecting the life of people around me.

@fatum I think you're always predispositioned to OCD, but you learn to deal with it and keep it under control. Stress, etc. can trigger it.

@TempledOut Zoloft, is it safe?

@fatum Biggest advice that worked for me is to accept uncertainty! I Accept the uncertainty behind thoughts by addressing them saying “maybe I will (insert fear), maybe not.. I’ll just accept the uncertainty and move on.”

You learn to accept fhe issues and let them be. The more you try to push them away the more they will come back

OCD manifests in many different ways Peter, but to help you know what’s going on, I strongly recommend you find a way to get a comprehensive diagnostic assessment from a mental health therapist or psychiatrist. We have therapists who offer diagnostic assessments (just hit the therapist button to learn more about them if you like) and if we aren’t in your area yet, I recommend you check out the IOCDF directory. Some of those therapists can help you do one too. Diagnostic assessment from a licensed mental health therapist with specialty training in OCD and Anxiety is key! Hope this helps Peter. Also, hope you have a good experience using NOCD.

I am not, but I’d like to go to India one day!

Yes. Our Head of Clinical Services, Dr. Patrick McGrath has deep experience treating people with scrupulousity themes. He also works with each of our NOCD therapists, to make sure they can also effectively help people with scrupulosity.

Well I hope we can help you! We are here whenever you are ready. Since it’s all online therapy (live video-conferencing sessions), I hope it can save you time in your busy schedule (no traveling, waiting rooms, etc

We are working hard to bring it to Europe! We are currently going through compliance measures so that we can help people in the EU.

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Ohh I was about to ask why it's not available in Europe. You have to comply with certain laws and provisions...

If you are trying to disprove your fear by googling and finding answers to the thoughts, it is a compulsion. Why? There is no answer to the obsessions!

We are working hard to bring it global, but we first need to make sure we become compliant to do so.

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Excellent to hear that! This forum and ERP tools have helped me a lot so far. It would be great if there was a way for us global users to also join studies/questionnaires to further OCD research.

I had ROCD, different sexual intrusive thoughts, and scrupulosity

I’m not anymore! In Chicago currently, but my fiancé and her family are from San Antonio

I would say check out the OCD stories podcast that @stu Ralph runs every week. Great resource that helps you see what’s going on in the community every week. Often you can get helpful resources/learnings from that podcast

Insurance is beginning to cover it, but if you don’t have insurance we try to keep it at $50 per session (the price of a copay). Do you have insurance?

Hi Darz- thanks for your interest in learning more. I think seeing an OCD therapist who does ERP is a major, positive, first step. If you see one of our therapists, here is how it will work: 1) you hit the therapist button and schedule a 15 min phone call with our intake team. 2) they will listen to you and connect you with an OCD therapist from NOCD who best match your needs in your state 3) When it comes time for your appointment you will video chat with them via a link NOCD will send you. They will see you regularly. 4) in between sessions, you can message them directly inside the NOCD app and also use our self help tools to help you stick to your therapists treatment plan. 5) Each session is $50, and our therapists will see you regularly until you get better. Once you are better, you can still message them in the app- but you may not need the live sessions anymore. On average, people with OCD in NOCD’s ERP therapy model see significant improvement in 8 weeks.

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith If you decide to start the process by hitting the therapist button and scheduling a free 15 min call, always know that you can also reach out to me at any time with questions. I’d love to help in any way. Best email is info@nocdhelp.com

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Thank you! I appreciate all of the help!

Hi that’s a great idea. In the coming weeks, you’ll see more information about existential themed ocd. We’ll also have more information about other subtypes. Thanks for being a part of the NOCD community! We will also have a live Q&A this Monday at 6:30 cst where you can ask any questions you have about your subtype.

Yes we definitely will! I had a few weeks of existential themed episodes several months ago. Specifically, “what if there is no afterlife and all of life is just completely meaningless?” Very common theme

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith It's comforting to know that it's so comnon. I've been feeling like it isn't as common just because I haven't found a lot of information on it. Mine is somewhat specific because it's based on a story, but I'd say it definitely still falls under the existential theme.

@PeachyPopsicle I definitely feel you. Have you ever tried sharing your story with others to see if they could relate?

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith So far the only person I've told in ly life outside of therapists is my boyfriend. I have posted about some of my thoughts here on this app and actually found at least one other person who is experiencing obsessive thoughts over the same story as me. I haven't really shared with anyone else because this theme just seems like a weird one to focus on, and a lot of times I just feel crazy for it, even though I know I'm not.

Are you seeing a psychiatrist and an OCD therapist who does ERP? If I was in your shoes, I would seek both. NOCD Therapy will be live in Oregon in early Feb (it’s about $50 per session, and it’s face-to-face therapy sessions online)so if you want, we could help you with the OCD therapy and we could connect you to a psychiatrist in Oregon. There are also some helpful resources online like the OCD stories podcast, several incredible instagram accounts (like Kimberly Quinlan’s), etc.

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith Do you accept Medicare? Is there a way for Medicare to pay for the sessions? I am currently seeing a psych doctor and 2 counselors. Can you tell me how an ERP could help with POCD and sexual OCD? Thanks

Did you see an OCD therapist (trained in both CBT and ERP)?

@NOCD Advocate - Stephen Smith yes i did

@overthinker Ok Know that OCD ebbs and flows. When it gets bad, really try and perfect the response prevention element of it (accepting thoughts and the uncertainty behind them). We built the SOS feature in this app for that reason. When you have an episode, hit that button, and it will walk you through the episode with response prevention guidance

Research says no. Here is why- a general CBT therapist teaches you to challenge your intrusive thoughts, images, and urges (the obsessions that bother you) to make them go away. Challenging your obsessions is actually a compulsion, since you are purposefully trying to push the thought, image, and urge out of your head. That action (the compulsion) makes your obsession grow stronger over time, making your OCD worse. An OCD therapist trained in ERP will teach you how to manage the intrusive thoughts, images, and urges by accepting them, teaching you how to sit with the thoughts vs resist them. That’s the “response prevention” element of ERP. By accepting the thoughts and not doing the compulsion, the thoughts over time dissipate and you break free from your OCD. THEREFORE the key to managing OCD is to learn how to sit with your thoughts. Make sense?

Next month! It’s live face-to-face therapy, just over live video conferencing.

Not yet, but hopefully soon!

You should reach out to Chrissie Hodges in the US

OCD can be managed, but it can’t be cured. Meaning- you can learn how to manage your intrusive thoughts so that they don’t bother you- but you can’t prevent the thoughts from occurring. Everyone has intrusive thoughts

It's not an official title but basically OCD with sexual themes to it. Basically my brain can't stop having sexual thoughts or intrusive thoughts that are sexual. It's basically I think it's called Pure OCD with mental compulsions. I also have POCD Which I believe to me is the Worst OCD.

Hey Mark...I wasn’t sure but are you asking me?