You are more than your intrusive thoughts.
OCD thrives on secrecy and avoidance, so effective treatment means facing it openly with structured tools rather than reassurance.
ERP therapy and psychiatric medication management for children, teens, and adults in Ogden, Utah. Typically seen within 3 days.
OCD
Unwanted thoughts. Rituals that don't stop the dread.
OCD pairs unwanted, intrusive thoughts, the obsessions, with repetitive behaviors or mental rituals performed to reduce the distress they cause, the compulsions. The relief never lasts, which is what keeps the cycle running.
Standard CBT for anxiety is not sufficient for OCD. OCD requires ERP, Exposure and Response Prevention, which targets the obsession and compulsion cycle directly rather than the anxious thought alone. Read more about OCD in children and teens.
We offer ERP and CBT therapy, psychiatric medication management, and psychological testing to confirm the diagnosis when a presentation is complex. All ages.
Highly treatable
ERP and SSRIs together produce strong outcomes. The biggest barrier is delay: on average a decade passes before people get the right help. Source: NIMH.
Ego-dystonic
A person with OCD does not want these thoughts. Their distress at the content is evidence the thoughts are alien to their values, which is what distinguishes OCD from OCPD.
OCD goes beyond checking and cleaning.
The subtype changes what exposure work looks like, which is why naming it accurately matters more than it might seem.
Contamination OCD
Fear of germs, illness, or feeling unclean. Compulsions include excessive handwashing, cleaning, or avoiding surfaces and people.
Checking and Harm OCD
Repeated checking of locks, appliances, or that no harm was caused. Obsessive fear of having hurt someone, whether intentionally or by accident.
Symmetry and Order OCD
Things must feel just right or be arranged a particular way. This is not preference. It is an overwhelming sense that something bad will happen otherwise.
Intrusive Thought OCD
Unwanted thoughts about violence, sexual content, or taboo subjects that deeply disturb the person. The distress itself is the evidence these thoughts are not wanted.
Scrupulosity OCD
Religious or moral perfectionism: excessive fear of sin, blasphemy, or moral failure. Compulsions include repeated prayer, confession, or reassurance-seeking.
Pure-O, or mental OCD
Mostly mental obsessions with few visible compulsions. The compulsions happen internally: reviewing, reassuring, neutralizing. Easily mistaken for general anxiety.
WHO IT AFFECTS
OCD does not discriminate. It affects all ages.
Complex presentations
OCD with overlapping conditions
OCD frequently co-occurs with anxiety, ADHD, trauma, and depression. Accurate differentiation is critical, so our testing team evaluates the full picture before treatment begins.
Children and teens
OCD in children
It can begin in childhood and intensifies under stress. Some children develop symptoms suddenly after a strep infection, known as PANDAS or PANS. Our pediatric team is trained in age-appropriate ERP.
Complex presentations
Complex presentations
OCD with overlapping conditions
OCD frequently co-occurs with anxiety, ADHD, trauma, and depression. Accurate differentiation is critical, so our testing team evaluates the full picture before treatment begins.
Do I have OCD? How can I tell?
Plenty of people follow routines or double-check things. That is not OCD.
It becomes a disorder when it consumes real time, often hours a day, causes significant distress, or interferes with work, school, or relationships.
Part one
Obsessions
Thoughts, images, or urges that arrive against your will and feel distressing or frightening.
Part two
Compulsions
Actions or mental rituals done to reduce the anxiety. The relief is temporary, so the cycle repeats.
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Perfectionism is driven by high standards and achievement. There are thoughts of “I want to do this really well.” The discomfort of perfectionism comes from not meeting your own expectations or a fear of judgment.
OCD is driven by anxiety and fear. There are thoughts of “something is wrong or dangerous—and I have to fix it.” The discomfort of OCD comes from intrusive thoughts that feel urgent and threatening.
Perfectionist thoughts are usually logical and based on personal values. OCD thoughts usually feel intrusive, unwanted, and extreme in nature.
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OCD is often quieter and more exhausting than people think. It can look like waking up anxious and immediately scanning for danger, showering until it feels “just right”, or repeating routines in exactly the same order. Sometimes there is “mental noise” of intrusive or distressing thoughts or a constant mental review of past conversations and questioning yourself.
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OCD can show up early, even before children can fully explain their thoughts, though it typically comes to the forefront in the teen years. OCD that shows up in adulthood has usually been sitting quietly for years and gone unrealized or untreated. OCD can be treated at any age and treatment is very effective.
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Yes, however due to the interactive nature of ERP therapy, it is strongly advised that you find a therapist to work with in person. Telehealth therapy and psychiatric care available throughout Utah, Missouri, California, Minnesota and other states. Serving Ogden, North Ogden, Roy, Clearfield, Layton, Weber County, Davis County, and the Wasatch Front. Contact us or call (801) 791-4975.
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Medication is considered when a patient's response to ERP has not been effective and medical causes have been ruled out. SSRIs are first-line. They reduce emotional reactivity and give patients more time to use their ERP skills. The combination of ERP and SSRIs produces substantially better outcomes than either alone.
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Yes. Our pediatric therapy team uses age-appropriate ERP for children and teens. Some children develop OCD symptoms following strep infections (PANDAS/PANS). Our pediatric psychiatry team coordinates medication when appropriate. FDA-approved OCD medications exist for children as young as age 6. Read our guide on OCD in children and teens.
How do you diagnose OCD?
It starts with a detailed clinical interview covering the content of the obsessions, what the compulsions are doing, how much time they consume, and how long the pattern has been running.
The harder work is telling OCD apart from what resembles it. Generalized anxiety produces worry without rituals. Autistic routines can look like compulsions but serve a different purpose, which is why autism testing is sometimes the right call instead. OCPD involves a preference for order, while OCD involves dread that something will go wrong without it.
When a presentation is complex, psychological testing settles the question before treatment begins. You leave with a written report in plain language explaining what was found and what happens next.
How ERP breaks the OCD cycle.
Exposure and Response Prevention teaches the brain two things at once: the feared outcome does not arrive, and the anxiety can be tolerated without the ritual.
Build a fear hierarchy
Map the triggers and obsessions from least to most distressing. ERP always starts at a level you can tolerate and moves up from there.
Face the trigger
Gradually approach the feared situation or thought in a structured, supported way. This is what proves to the brain that the feared outcome does not occur.
Resist the ritual
Tolerate the anxiety without performing the compulsion. Over time the anxiety extinguishes on its own and the compulsion loses its power.
Pediatric ERP, same approach at a different pace
ERP works for children and teens with age-appropriate pacing and parents involved throughout. Our pediatric therapy team specializes in it, and psychiatric care is coordinated alongside when it is needed.
Medication helps ERP work better.
Medication is not the first step. ERP is tried first.
When ERP alone has not produced enough relief, SSRIs meaningfully improve outcomes by reducing emotional reactivity and giving patients more room to use their ERP skills. Our psychiatric providers explain every option before prescribing it, and therapy and medication are coordinated from the first appointment through the Elite Dual Intake rather than run as two separate tracks.
"ERP therapy works much better in the presence of medication — medication works to reduce the perception of anxiety and give the patient more time to use their ERP training."
Bryce Gosney, PMHNP-BC · Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
How do you treat OCD?
OCD is treated with Exposure and Response Prevention, the gold-standard evidence-based approach. ERP works by systematically breaking the obsession and compulsion cycle. Rather than avoiding the trigger or performing the ritual, patients learn to face the feared thought and tolerate the anxiety without responding to it. Over time the anxiety diminishes and the compulsion loses its hold.
When ERP alone is not producing enough relief, SSRIs are added. Escitalopram and sertraline reduce emotional reactivity and give patients more runway to use their ERP skills. Our psychiatric providers explain every medication before prescribing it.
Medication does not replace ERP. It makes ERP more effective.
Therapy and psychiatric care are coordinated from the first appointment through the Elite Dual Intake. Your therapist and psychiatric provider build one plan together, not two separate tracks you manage on your own. For children and teens, pediatric ERP runs at a different pace with the same underlying approach.
OCD is highly treatable. Most people wait far too long.
ERP therapy and psychiatric care for children, teens, and adults, in person in Ogden or by telehealth throughout Utah. Most major insurance accepted.
Serving Ogden, North Ogden, Roy, Layton, Clearfield, and Farmington · Weber County, Davis County, and the Wasatch Front
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