Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is marked by unwanted thoughts, urges, or impulses that bring on anxiety, panic, disgust, or discomfort (obsessions). In response, people feel compelled to perform certain behaviors or mental rituals (compulsions) in an attempt to reduce that distress. Symptoms can feel uncontrollable and often cause significant disruption in daily life.

Unfortunately, OCD is frequently misunderstood. Finding a trained OCD specialist can be challenging, and when treatment is provided by non-specialists, it is often ineffective—and in some cases, can make symptoms worse.

The gold-standard treatment for OCD is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a short-term, evidence-based therapy (typically up to 20 sessions). In addition to ERP, my training includes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), inhibitory learning theory, and inference-based CBT.

Because OCD can mimic many other conditions, misdiagnosis is common. It is often mistaken for generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobia, panic disorder, delusional disorder, or even schizophrenia. On average, it takes more than seven years to receive the right diagnosis. During that time, many people with OCD feel hopeless, ashamed, or convinced they can’t be helped.

If this is your experience, please know: you are not broken, and you are not “too difficult.” You simply need the right treatment—and recovery is possible.

Hoarding Disorder

Hoarding disorder involves persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, a strong urge to save items regardless of their value, and distress at the thought of letting them go. Over time, this leads to clutter and congestion that interfere with using living spaces as intended. Once considered a subtype of OCD, hoarding disorder is now recognized as its own diagnosis under the umbrella of obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Hoarding is highly stigmatized, often starting in childhood or adolescence and sometimes going undetected for decades. It can cause deep shame, embarrassment, and self-judgment, and is frequently a source of family conflict. The isolation that often accompanies hoarding can also make it harder to recognize the scope of the problem or to reach out for help.

That’s why treatment must be grounded in compassion, respect, and curiosity. Hoarding can make you feel small, overwhelmed, or hopeless—but you didn’t ask for this, and you deserve to feel empowered, seen, and supported. When we work together, I won’t look at your belongings and see “junk” or “trash.” I’ll see them as you see them, and we’ll treat them with the respect they deserve.

My understanding of hoarding disorder comes not only from training and clinical experience, but also from lived experience. I know what it’s like to save worn clothing with plans to fix it someday, to hold onto nearly empty bottles to use every last drop, to panic at the idea of visitors, or to avoid rooms in my own home. I know the shame—and I also know it’s possible to get to the other side.

While traditional CBT with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) has long been used to treat hoarding disorder, newer research highlights the value of combining it with approaches like Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT). I integrate all of these methods into my work to build self-efficacy, self-esteem, and lasting change.

Please believe me when I say: I know how terrifying this can feel, but you don’t have to live this way forever. Recovery is possible, and you deserve it.