The term OCD refers to a medical diagnosis, and a diagnosis which is based upon how many symptoms you currently experience. My way of working will certainly not ignore your symptoms, but I am much less interested in putting you in a box, and much more interested in understanding how OCD manifests in you specifically.

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Symptoms can absolutely reduce to the point where the impact on your life is minimal. But I won't pretend that OCD needs to be "fixed" or completely eliminated. That mindset, the drive for certainty and the need to make uncomfortable feelings disappear, is often part of what created the problem in the first place.

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Ironically, trying to eliminate OCD symptoms entirely can reinforce the same intolerance of discomfort that fuels the condition. My approach focuses not just on reducing symptoms, but on changing your relationship with discomfort, uncertainty, and intrusive thoughts. Learning to live with what your brain does, rather than fighting it.

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My Approach: Three Therapies Working Together

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I use a combination of CBT, ACT, and EMDR, applied creatively and interchangeably based on what you need. Think of these as different tools for working on OCD from different angles.

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CBT and Exposure Response Prevention (ERP): Breaking the Patterns

 

CBT and ERP deliver what I think of as a "hammer blow" to OCD patterns. ERP is exceptionally well evidenced for symptom reduction in OCD and is considered the gold standard behavioural treatment. This is the part of treatment that directly targets the behaviours keeping OCD alive.

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What this looks like: We identify the behavioural scaffolding that supports your OCD: the checking, the neutralising, the reassurance seeking, the avoidance. These all have to be addressed, and CBT/ERP gives us practical, proven ways to dismantle them. This means gradually facing your fears without performing compulsions, teaching your brain that you can tolerate the discomfort and that the feared outcome either won't happen or isn't as catastrophic as OCD tells you it is.

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Example: If you're checking the hob 20 times before bed, we'll work together to gradually reduce that checking. If you're avoiding situations that trigger intrusive thoughts, we'll carefully approach them. This work can be challenging, but it's also where significant change happens.
 

Read a detailed example of CBT/ERP work here

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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Changing Your Relationship with OCD

 

ACT isn't about fighting your thoughts or trying to make them go away. It's about learning to live with discomfort while building a life based on what matters to you. Research has shown ACT to be effective for OCD, particularly when combined with exposure-based approaches.

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What this looks like: We work on your ability to accept uncomfortable thoughts and feelings rather than struggling against them, defuse from intrusive thoughts (seeing them as mental noise rather than truth), develop awareness of your patterns, and learn to behave according to your values rather than your fears.

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Example: Instead of trying to prove you're not a bad person (which feeds the OCD), we work on accepting that you'll have uncomfortable thoughts sometimes and choosing to act based on your values anyway. Instead of seeking certainty that nothing bad will happen, we practice tolerating uncertainty while still living your life.

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Read a detailed example of ACT work here

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EMDR: Processing What's Underneath

EMDR helps process significant life events, traumas, or experiences that contribute to the underlying belief systems and emotions fuelling your OCD. This isn't always needed, but it's almost always needed when there are highly relevant unprocessed events in your history.
 

What this looks like: We identify experiences that shaped your core beliefs (about responsibility, safety, being good enough, deserving help) and use EMDR to process them. This can shift the emotional intensity of these beliefs and reduce their power over your current behaviour.

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Example: If your OCD around contamination developed after a childhood experience of serious illness in the family, or if your need for certainty stems from an unpredictable or chaotic upbringing, EMDR can help process those experiences so they're not driving your current symptoms.

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Read a detailed example of EMDR work here

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Why This Combination Works

 

I started my career as a CBT therapist using primarily ERP. It worked, often very well. But over years of practice, I noticed that rigid CBT didn't quite address everything. Some people would reduce their symptoms but still struggled with the underlying distress. Others would complete ERP successfully but then develop new OCD patterns or relapse when life became stressful again.

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ACT provides the missing piece: it addresses the relationship with discomfort and uncertainty that sits beneath the symptoms, and crucially, it helps prevent relapse by teaching skills that last. When combined with CBT's practical behavioural work and EMDR's trauma processing, we can work on OCD from multiple angles simultaneously.

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I use these approaches creatively and flexibly, not following a rigid protocol. What you need in week three might be different from what you need in week ten. Sometimes we'll focus heavily on exposure work, other times on acceptance skills, other times on processing past experiences. The goal is always the same: reduce the power OCD has over your life and help you build the kind of life you actually want to live.

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What You Can Expect

OCD can be treated effectively. With the right approach, symptoms can reduce significantly, and many people reach a point where OCD no longer dictates their choices or dominates their mental space.

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Treatment requires active work. This isn't passive therapy where we just talk about problems. You'll be doing exercises, facing fears, practising new responses. It can be uncomfortable, but discomfort is where change happens.

 

You're not broken. The patterns that created your OCD made sense at some point. They were your brain's way of trying to protect you or manage overwhelming situations. Treatment isn't about fixing what's wrong with you; it's about understanding these patterns and learning new ones that actually serve you.

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Progress isn't always linear. Some weeks will feel like breakthroughs, others like you're stuck. That's normal and expected. What matters is the overall trajectory, not day to day fluctuations.

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There's a bonus beyond OCD. The ACT skills you'll learn (acceptance, self-compassion, values-based living) don't just help with OCD. They tend to make general life feel better too. Many people find that learning to be kinder to themselves and more accepting of discomfort improves their relationships, their work life, and their overall sense of wellbeing.

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Is This Approach Right for You?

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This way of working is particularly effective if you:

• Have tried rigid CBT or ERP before and found it helpful but incomplete

• Struggle not just with OCD behaviours but with underlying anxiety, shame, or difficulty tolerating discomfort

• Have past experiences or trauma that seem connected to your OCD

• Want an approach that's practical and active, but also addresses deeper patterns

• Are ready to do uncomfortable work in service of genuine change

• Value flexibility and creativity over following a standard protocol