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 their discomfort. 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 even well-meaning non-specialists, it is often ineffective at best, and at worst, it can progress symptoms significantly.

The gold-standard treatment for OCD is a short-term, evidence-based modality called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). In addition to ERP, my training includes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), inhibitory learning theory, and inference-based CBT, all of which are clinically indicated as beneficial supports to ERP, or useful alternatives when ERP has been unsuccessful.

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. They may even be labelled as having “treatment resistant” OCD, and bounced from one provider to another, increasing feelings that they cannot change and eroding trust in the mental health care system.

If this is your experience, please know: you are not broken, and you are not “too difficult.” You simply need the right treatment. 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. It is possible, however, for people with OCD to have hoarding and saving obsessions and compulsions without meeting the full criteria for hoarding disorder. If you are searching for treatment for either condition, it is important to work with a provider who is capable of differentiating the two and knows best practices for treating each presentation.

Hoarding disorder 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 (or be completely unable to use them). 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 them with approaches like, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, 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.