Does anyone else not know how to tell their (new) therapist I have distressing intrusive thoughts? No, they aren’t an OCD specialist and those aren’t really available in my area. I’m seeing a CBT specialist (soon) who typically treats anxiety and depression, who said they’d feel confident treating OCD.

Username: 08230823

Date posted: 6y ago

Maybe you could ask them what they know about OCD and what themes they are familiar with first? If they are familiar with a lot and seem to have a good knowledge on OCD, they could be helpful to you. Questions to ask could be: “What is your experience in treating OCD?” “Can you tell me what you know about it?” “Do you use CBT, specifically ERP?” If they feel confident, they probably know some about it. The theme does not matter, the underlying factor in everyone with OCD is fear. Try feeling it out and seeing if you’re comfortable.

Username: 08230823

Date posted: 6y ago

I told my old therapist about my pocd and she was very understanding. It was before I even knew what I was going through. I was just like “what if I could be one?” and she was in no way judgmental. That lead me to research and find out what I was going through. Hope this helps with your confidence!

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 6y ago

Have you considered teletherapy? If you can’t get an in-person specialist you might be able to get one via teletherapy. If you are in AZ or NY I can suggest a good one, if not, I am sure a search on the IOCDF website will help you:

Username: CrispyManCrispyMan

Date posted: 6y ago

Thanks 0823: I will ask about what themes they’ve heard of. If they haven’t heard of say POCD or Harm OCD... does that mean they can’t treat me? I would say not necessarily, I’m pretty sure any therapist worth their salt knows that reassurance in general is bad, and all I need the therapist’s help with now is literally accepting my thoughts and moving on with my day. I actually mentioned: “The OCD expert Steven Phillipson urged sufferers to ask their therapist on whether they have experience treating OCD.” She then said she understands and feels confident treating OCD... though I don’t know her OCD caseload. She’s has 10+ years of experience treating mental health disorders so even if she hasn’t say heard of Harm or POCD, I’m assuming she’s plenty-comfortable hearing about intrusive thoughts, so I’m probably just worrying too much.

Username: HeythereHeythere

Date posted: 4y ago

Dr. Steven Ohillipson is very knowledgeable but bbn I had a horrible experience at his clinic. I would not recommend anyone to go there unless u are working directly with him.

Username: 08230823

Date posted: 6y ago

Also, I really hope everything works out with your therapist and you can start accepting your thoughts! Good luck and keep fighting, I know you can do it!

Username: Redhawks2212Redhawks2212

Date posted: 6y ago

https://www.cognitivebehavioralcenter.com This is Dr. Phillipson’s clinic in NY and they do Skype therapy.

Username: CrispyManCrispyMan

Date posted: 6y ago

I actually looked at OCD Online and discovered that some sessions could be around $70 or so, but they apparently don’t do teletherapy? The IOCDF website well... It helped but I don’t have a car, etc, so I’d have to get a ride to X location and meh...

Username: I eat boysI eat boys

Date posted: 6y ago

I hate talking about them and when people ask!

Username: Arden

Date posted: 5y ago

My therapist says I have OCD, but I don’t think I have any intrusive thoughts or images. How can that be?

Username: jelpk

Date posted: 5y ago

LONG POST: Can someone help me by answering this? I’ve had intrusive thoughts before but I used to just push them away. In September, I had intrusive thought about life after death and it sent me into a spiral of fear and anxiety. I had trouble falling asleep and focusing during the day. I went to see a therapist a month later. It was a walk-in session and they told me to do CBT. Accept uncertainty and move on. This gave me even more anxiety. Eventually, with meditation, i was able to keep the thoughts at bay. Then in December, I began to have intrusive thoughts about my sister. They were sexually disturbing and I even wished that I could have intrusive thoughts about death again. I then it switched to sexual thoughts about my brother and he’s only a kid so I feel even more disgusted by myself. It’s been like this for three months now. I’ve tried meditating but it’s not doing much. I’m ashamed to tell my parents and I don’t know what to do. I’m afraid I’ll act on the thoughts all the time. Then I wonder if I actually want to have them. It’s so draining. I hate waking up each day to these thoughts. I wonder if I actually want to have them since I have had them for so long. I’m so frustrated with myself.

"Pure" OCD

Username: Gimli_23

Date posted: 2y ago

Therapists

I'm currently visiting my third therapist in the last three years and none of them have helped me so far. None of them have given me any type of diagnosis so I'm not even sure if I actually have OCD, and it's driving me mad. The last session I had, I even felt like it made things worse rather that it helped. I wanna feel that trust to my therapist that you should feel to be able to share your emotions but I don't. I feel like its not going anywhere, like it's useless. Lately I've been thinking about finding a therapist here at NOCD, I've even looked up some specific people and they all seem really nice and sweet.

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