In-Person & Online Therapy  |  1780 S Bellaire St #485, Denver, CO 80222  |  303.809.3341

 OCD Therapy in Denver, Co

  • Do you suspect that you or your teen may be experiencing the symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
  • Are day-to-day activities often disrupted by compulsive behaviors that, once completed, leave you doubting whether the completion was real or imagined, forcing you to recheck?
  • Do you notice that the more you succumb to the OCD loop—performing rituals to temporarily relieve obsessive, anxious thoughts—the more overwhelming your OCD becomes?

Living with OCD can feel like a foreign invader with no connection to you has taken over your mind. Out of nowhere, your thoughts may become flooded by hypothetical fears that won’t be quieted unless you take action, either mentally or physically. Unfortunately, the relief you experience is often short-lived, and soon you’re repeating the same ritual over again.

Has OCD Become A Problem You Can No Longer Ignore?

Although OCD symptoms are unique to the individual, common obsessive themes include:
  • Germs/contamination
  • Responsibility to prevent bad things from happening
  • Sexual and aggressive impulses
  • Religion
  • Symmetry/order

Compulsions might look like:
  • Repeated checking (doors, stoves, emails)
  • Excessive hand washing, sanitizing, and cleaning
  • Counting, praying, or repeating phrases silently
  • Mental reviewing or trying to “figure it out”
  • Touching items a certain number of times

However, not all OCD includes a compulsive or ritualistic component. Perhaps you struggle with obsessional, “Pure-O” symptoms that remain trapped in your head and negatively impact all facets of life. Because Pure-O is strictly thought-based and not easily recognizable as OCD, you may suffer in silence without realizing there’s a label for it.

To alleviate further anxiety, you may find you avoid certain people, places, or things that once brought joy, leading to social withdrawal and missed opportunities. As you spend hours stuck in endless loops, your world grows smaller and more isolated.

The good news is that therapy can help alleviate OCD symptoms so you can get your life back. Utilizing Exposure Response Prevention, it’s possible to quiet the obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors that disconnect you from your true self.

Your Quality Of Life May Suffer

OCD Is The Fourth-Most Common Mental Health Disorder In The United States

In the United States, it is estimated that 1.2 percent of adults, or 3.7 million people, have OCD. Sometimes described as the “Doubting Disorder”, OCD can cause paralyzing uncertainty, leading its sufferers to question their reality.

OCD feeds off of perfectionism, the very thing our success-driven culture values and encourages. For some, the intense pressure to do things "just right" can contribute to ritualistic behaviors, such as excessive checking or sanitizing. And for those with purely obsessional OCD (Pure O), the compulsions are internalized as they attempt to neutralize troubling thoughts with other thoughts.

Sadly, lacking the language to describe and understand our internal experience often triggers intense anxiety, depression, social phobia, or panic disorder, all of which commonly co-occur with OCD.

Unfortunately, OCD is commonly misunderstood or trivialized in our society. We don’t always know how to distinguish clinically significant symptoms from intrusive thoughts—which happen to everyone—or simply being orderly. What’s more, casual references to “being OCD” are often used as humorous punch lines, further alienating those who feel trapped and diminished by this disorder.

Although we want to take our power back and regain control, the OCD cycle—obsession → anxiety → compulsion → temporary relief → reinforcement—is pervasive, predictable, and extremely challenging to break. Without the help of a therapist to hold us accountable, it’s easy to remain stuck in the OCD cycle.

Therapy can help you gain a better understanding of what keeps OCD in place and how to break the cycle. With safe and effective treatment, you can alleviate symptoms and free yourself from OCD’s grip.

OCD Can Be Difficult To Overcome Without Treatment

OCD can be so challenging to break out of because, similar to addiction, we derive momentary comfort from anxiety when we engage in the cycle. However, the more we engage in the cycle, the more we reinforce OCD behavior, creating a vicious loop that becomes increasingly difficult to break.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder therapy provides a safe and supportive environment to share the distressing thoughts that prompt compulsive behaviors without judgment. Working with a therapist who has expertise treating OCD, you will be equipped with effective tools and strategies to quiet obsessive thoughts and resist the urge to engage in rituals and compulsions. When you learn to shift away from the OCD mindset consistently, new possibilities emerge to live life on your own terms.

OCD Therapy Can Help You Reclaim Your Life

At Denver Metro Counseling, our clinicians work with older teens and adults with OCD. Initially, your counselor will help clarify what constitutes OCD, especially if you experience Pure-O, which manifests more subtly as internalized obsessive thinking and compulsions.

Goals for therapy will be determined collaboratively, guided by what you feel will be the most beneficial for you. Although the goals we set may appear challenging, we will ensure they are broken down into manageable, achievable tasks that can be accomplished week over week.

What To Expect In Sessions

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the "gold standard" treatment for OCD that helps interrupt the cycle to support lasting healing. Using a gradual process set at a manageable pace, the ERP technique allows you to confront anxiety-inducing thoughts, feelings, and situations without relying on compulsive behaviors or rituals for short-term relief. Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD is considered one of the most effective treatments for OCD. According to NOCD, ERP has a success rate of 65 to 80 percent in children, teens, and adults.

Once we have a better understanding of the fears that fuel your compulsions, we will rank them from least to most distressing and, through ERP, address them individually. In this way, you can improve your ability to tolerate an acceptable level of anxiety without resorting to compulsive thoughts or rituals.

Additionally, for some, ERP may not be our first or last approach. Depending on your needs and background, therapy may incorporate various modalities and coping skills—such as IFS, EMDR, attachment-based and polyvagal-informed approaches, mindfulness, grounding, and relaxation techniques—to ensure you feel more equipped to manage anxiety without engaging in OCD behaviors. In the early stages of therapy, mindfulness used in combination with psychoeducation can be particularly effective in bringing more awareness to the nature of anxiety and the thoughts and behaviors that contribute to OCD.

The Modalities We Incorporate Into OCD Treatment

Understandably, you may worry that shining a spotlight on your OCD will exacerbate the thoughts and compulsions that keep you stuck in an endless loop. However, avoiding the problem will not make your symptoms magically go away. In fact, the longer OCD goes unaddressed, the worse it can get. By bringing OCD out into the open in therapy and acknowledging how it impacts your day-to-day life, we can begin to address the problem so that obsessive thoughts and compulsions gradually lose their grip on you.



You May Still Have Some Questions About OCD Therapy…

Won't talking about my ocd Symptoms in therapy make it worse?

I'm embarrased to talk about OCD with a therapist.

Does medication have to be part of my ocd treatment plan?

While medication can help treat OCD, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) can help get to the root of the problem so that you do not have to rely on medication for life. In fact, utilizing ERP in addition to medication-based treatments is often considered the most effective approach for OCD.

Many types of OCD involve thoughts or behaviors that feel private, unusual, or even taboo, so it's normal to worry about how you will be perceived. That said, you are not the first or last person to have these thoughts—our OCD counselors have heard it all. Therapy is a place where your experiences will be welcomed and explored without judgment or shame.

What to Expect from Our OCD Therapists in Denver

At the end of the first meeting you and your therapist will know your therapy goals and establish a method to achieve them.

Ongoing sessions are 50-minutes and vary in cost based on clinician and certifications. During these sessions, you will share more of your story and learn tools along the way to help manage your anxiety symptoms and learn to thrive with less anxiety.

Create therapy goals

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Should you choose to work with one of our anxiety therapists, you will schedule an initial 90-minute intake appointment.

During this first session, we want to get to know more about you and your anxiety. We are careful not to make this too overwhelming and won’t get into anything too deep this first meeting.


Schedule your intake appointment

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We will help you decide who might be the best fit for your needs and schedule a consultation between you and one of our anxiety therapists.

Therapists are matched based on a variety of factors to ensure that you receive the most effective care possible and that you feel comfortable working with the therapist for your specific and unique needs.


Choose your therapist

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Reaching out for help, in itself, can increase anxiety. We understand this and strive to make this process as easy as possible.

Our intake coordinator with schedule a complimentary 20-minute consultation to discuss your concerns with a specialized therapist.  The therapist will walk you through the process of getting onboarded and scheduling your first appointment.


SCHEDULE A CONSULT

1.

1780 S Bellaire St #485, Denver, CO 80222

OCD Therapy in Denver ,CO

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Thank you!

We want you to feel confident in your decision to work with Denver Metro Counseling. That is why we offer a complimentary 20-minute consultation with one of our therapists so that you can have all your questions answered and experience what it is like to work with us first hand. 

To book your complimentary consultation, call our office using the call button below and take the first step towards better mental health today. 

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