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If you have bothersome thoughts that never seem to go away, they can take over your mind. Maybe you get scared of a thought that you cannot get out of your head.
Or perhaps you experience anxiety or worry as a result of certain thoughts. You may feel the urge to complete a behavior over and over never getting it quite right or you repeat behaviors such as hand washing, turning the light switch on and off, checking whether you locked the door or turned off the oven.
Maybe you’re superstitious to the point that you avoid doing certain thing because you are afraid of something terrible happening. You may constantly worry about potentially committing or having committed a horrible crime like molesting a child or hitting a person with your car.
If you identify with any of these experiences, know that you’re not alone and effective treatment for OCD exists.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been proven effective in the treatment of OCD.
There are a variety of different types of therapy that New York Behavioral Health therapists specialize in:
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is the approach our NYC therapists seek to reduce the intensity and frequency of a client’s emotional pain, suffering, and self-defeating behaviors. CBT can help clients to cultivate skills leading to goal achievement and life satisfaction by assessing and treating:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is what’s considered a “third-wave” type of therapy developed after CBT. ACT can help you learn how to drop the struggle with any negative thoughts you have, rather than trying to push them away or defeat them. By building distance between yourself and your thoughts and emotions, your symptoms will likely naturally decrease.
Exposure and Response Prevention, or ERP, is a type of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. The “exposure” in ERP refers to exposing yourself to thoughts, objects and/or situations that cause you anxiety. The “response” portion, refers to choosing not to engage in a compulsive behavior, despite anxiety that may arise. When you don’t participate in your compulsive behaviors, you’ll begin to feel less anxious over time.
Some people only experience distressing thoughts, others perform compulsive behaviors as well. In all cases, severe anxiety is present and the more you try to not think about the distressing thought, the more it haunts you.
Performing compulsive behaviors is only helpful in alleviating the anxiety in the short term. Sometimes the discomfort is so great that only drugs or alcohol can help someone experience a break from the constant fear and worry. While OCD is an incredibly difficult disorder to experience, the good news is we can help. Our staff at New York Behavioral Health uses evidence-based practices and can help you improve your symptoms very soon.
OCD can be broken into different domains. Cognitive components involve the obsessions themselves, but more critical in terms of pathology, are beliefs that obsessions are dangerous, intolerable, and must be neutralized or repressed. Other typical cognitive components include thoughts like:
Physical symptoms are similar to other anxiety disorders and can include any sensations that are related to sympathetic nervous system activation, e.g., nausea, increased pulse, perspiration, etc. Strong urges (experienced as compulsions) to “undo” an obsession exist. Delays or resistance in responding to a compulsion will temporarily increase anxiety symptoms.
OCD is a type of anxiety disorder, in which obsessions and compulsions cause significant emotional pain and/or impair an individual’s ability to function in different areas of his or her life.
Themes include contamination, religious domains, fear of harming self or others, violence, etc. Panic, general anxiety, depressive symptoms, and guilt often accompany OCD symptoms.
Connect with your therapist by either completing our matching form or reaching out to our care coordinators over the phone.
Attend a 45 minute intake session, where you will get to know your chosen therapist. The point of this visit is to learn what brought you to therapy and how we can help.
In each ongoing session, you and your therapist will use trusted therapy approaches to help you develop and reach your goals. Collaboratively, you’ll connect in a safe, comfortable space to help you engage in your life in the way you want.
Our therapists and coaches have combined decades of experience and are specially trained to provide high quality, compassionate support for your health and wellbeing.
We’re dedicated to using evidence-based methods to ensure you receive the most effective treatment and meet your goals.
We know that having a better relationship with your therapist leads to better outcomes, so we carefully match you with the right therapist to fit your unique needs.
It’s important to our therapists that you feel safe, seen, and understood in therapy. Our offices are judgment-free spaces.
Based on your preferences, we’ll offer therapist or coach recommendations to help you match with your perfect fit.
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