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“People who live with OCD drag a metal sea anchor around. Obsession is a break, a source of drag, not a badge of creativity, a mark of genius or an inconvenient side effect of some greater function.”
― David Adam, The Man Who Couldn't Stop: OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought

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VIDEO: The Pandemic Through The Eyes of Someone With OCD

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VIDEO: The Pandemic Through The Eyes of Someone With OCD

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The Pandemic Through The Eyes Of Someone With OCD

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User Guides

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This resource is for support groups of people living with OCD.

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OCD-SUPPORT OCD-Support@groups.io

Support and guidance relating to OCD and its treatment for people with OCD, as well as their family members and friends. This group focuses on helping people with OCD improve their lives through the use of the evidence-based treatments of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), including exposure and response prevention (ERP), and the proven OCD medications. This group is moderated by Wendy Mueller, who is well-recovered from severe OCD and has been leading online OCD support groups for over 31 years, and Dr. James Claiborn, a psychologist who has specialized in using cognitive behavioral therapy to treat patients with OCD and related disorders for over 30 years. Both Wendy and Dr. Claiborn are recipients of the Patricia Perkins Service Award from the International OCD Foundation.

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Support and guidance relating to OCD and its treatment for people with OCD, as well as their family members and friends. This group focuses on helping people with OCD improve their lives through the use of the evidence-based treatments of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), including exposure and response prevention (ERP), and the proven OCD medications.

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TIP: Practice Tools and Possible Scenarios at Work

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TIP: Practice Tools and Possible Scenarios at Work

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Managing mental illness and work can be very demanding. As a counselor, it is important to work with clients to manage their obsessions and compulsions in their workplace setting. For example, a client can't miss meetings due to acting on their compulsions.

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VIDEO 2: How COVID Relates to Career Counseling and Clients With OCD

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VIDEO 2: How COVID Relates to Career Counseling and Clients With OCD

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“Q. How can I be certain that what I fear will happen will never really happen?

A. Sadly, the answer is you can't be certain! If you suffer from OCD you probably want a 100 percent guarantee that you will never do anything dangerous or that no harm will ever come to you or your family members. Unfortunately, life does not work like this. If I think about it, I know that there is no guarantee that I won't be hit by a car coming home from work today - but somehow my brain automatically accepts the very small chance of this happening and so permits me to go on living my life.

More than two thousand years ago the Buddha (a great psychologist besides being a religious teacher) warned that one of the key things that makes us suffer is that we always want more than we will actually get - whether what we want is material like gold and jewels, or (my addition) in the case of OCD, more certainty than you will ever achieve. Thus the solution the Buddha might have offered you in northern India those thousands of years ago might have been something like this: "To stop suffering you must learn to accept that you will never achieve as much certainty as you want, no matter how much you pursue it; so it is up to you to choose: Either accept this truth and live your life happily, or fight against this truth and continue to suffer."

Let me say it again for emphasis: you will never be certain that you won't act on the urges you have, or that the terrible things you fear will happen will not actually happen - but I can assure you that the odds of these things actually happening are small enough that it is not worth wasting your life trying (in vain) to get 100 percent certainty. Better to trust in yourself, your religious beliefs, or in evolution having prepared us well for surviving in this world.

If evidence from brain studies better helps to convince you this is true, brain imaging studies of OCD sufferers now suggest that there really is something wrong with their "certainty system"; whatever automatically lets someone without OCD feel that things are OK does not function correctly in the OCD sufferer's brain (who then tries to convince himself that everything is OK, eventually becoming tired and frustrated when he cannot use other brain functions to achieve 100 percent certainty).”
― Lee Baer, Getting Control (Revised Edition

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“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.” — Marilyn Monroe

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This resource is great for important information about Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Additionally, it provides professional resources and trainings.

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Think of your anxiety as an alarm system. If an alarm goes off, what does it mean? The alarm is there to get your attention. If an intruder is trying to break into your house, the alarm goes off, wakes you up, gets you to act. To do something. To protect yourself and your family. But, what if the alarm system went off when a bird landed on the roof instead? Your body would respond to that alarm the same way it would if there were an actual threat such as an intruder.

OCD takes over your body's alarm system, a system that should be there to protect you. But instead of only warning you of real danger, that alarm system begins to respond to any trigger (no matter how small) as an absolute, terrifying, catastrophic threat.

When your anxiety "goes off" like an alarm system, it communicates information that you in danger, rather than "pay attention, you might be in danger."

Unfortunately, with OCD, your brain tells you that you are in danger a lot, even in situations where you "know" that there is a very small likelihood that something bad might happen. This is one of the cruelest parts of this disorder.

Now consider that your compulsive behaviors are your attempts to keep yourself safe when that alarm goes off. But, what does that mean you are telling your brain when you engage in these behaviors? You are reinforcing the brain's idea that you must be in danger. A bird on the roof is the same as a real intruder breaking into your home.

In other words, your compulsive behavior fuels that part of your brain that gives out these many unwarranted alarm signals. The bottom line is that in order to reduce your anxiety and your obsessions, you have to make a decision to stop the compulsive behaviors.

However, starting Exposure and Response Prevention therapy can be a difficult decision to make. It may feel like you are choosing to put yourself in danger. It is important to know that Exposure and Response Prevention changes your OCD and changes your brain. You begin to challenge and bring your alarm system (your anxiety) more in line with what is actually happening to you.

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International OCD Foundation | Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

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Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) Finding A Therapist Cognitive Behavior Therapy Medicine Insurance Overview Cognitive Behavior Therapy, also called CBT, is an effective treatment for OCD. About 7 out of 10 people with OCD will benefit from either CBT or medicine.

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I was diagnosed with OCD when I was 12 years old. It started slowly taking over my life until it became debilitating. I felt like I could not talk to any of my friends about it because they wouldn't understand.

Especially being that young, I had no idea why I had to act on these things I was thinking. It wouldn't stop unless I did it and then all the anxiety went away. I now know that to obsessions and compulsions. For example: The obsession would be "oh my god I'm going to get sick." Then the compulsion would be washing hands, not touching door knobs, etc.

Where I think I was led astray in my treatment was when I was diagnosed. No one ever explained to me what having OCD meant and why I was doing the things I was and suffering.

Fast forward 10 years later, I no longer have any symptoms of OCD and still find it fascinating what goes on in someone's brain with this mental disorder. This disorder can keep people from doing all the things they once did before or make them do a million extra things.

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When helping clients choose their career, it is important to remember that balance is key. Finding a job that the client is passionate about and is not too stressful is key.

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The long lasting effects of COVID

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OCD can present in many different ways. It is important to not rule anything out and be aware of multicultural issues. Some clients may see career counseling as acceptable in their culture but getting treated for a mental disorder as shameful.

After COVID, unemployment was still high- which leads to higher rates in career counseling.

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Bibliotherapy is shown to have a positive impact on clients. It can serve as a way for clients to understand their disorder and how to work with themselves.

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Jonathan B. Grayson, Ph.D. is the founder of The Grayson LA Treatment Center for Anxiety & OCD and adjunct faculty in the USC Keck School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry. For more than 35 years he has been specializing in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and is a nationally recognized expert and author of Freedom from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: a Personalized Recovery Program for Living with Uncertainty, a self-help guide for sufferers.

In October of 2010, the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies gave his book, Freedom from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the Self Help Book of Merit Award, recognizing his book as providing sufferers with the highest level of information about the best practices treatment for OCD. Dr. Grayson has presented workshops and has written numerous articles and book chapters for both professional and lay audiences, including two manual/ videotape sets made for the OC Foundation (The GOAL Handbook: Running a Successful Support Group for OCD and How to Recognize and Respond to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in School Age Children). His work and expertise has been featured in national media including, People Magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Show and Nightline. He serves on both the Scientific Advisory Board and the Speakers Bureau of the OC Foundation. In 1981, along with Gayle Frankel (the former president of the Philadelphia Affiliate of the OC Foundation), he started the first support group in the country for OCD, to which he still donates his time.

On July 17, 2010 the International OCD Foundation awarded Dr Grayson the Patty Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award for his devotion and contributions to the treatment of those with OCD. Finally, he has the distinction of being the first and possibly the only professional to run a yearly OCD camping trip.

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Freedom from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Personalized Recovery Program for Living with Uncertainty, Updated Edition

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Amazon.com: Freedom from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Personalized Recovery Program for Living with Uncertainty, Updated Edition eBook : Grayson, Jonathan: Kindle Store

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TIP: Finding the Right Treatment for Your Client

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TIP: Finding the Right Treatment for Your Client

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If a client comes to you asking for career advice, yet has severe OCD symptoms, it is important to know the net steps to take in finding them the correct treatment.

According to APA, the guideline for the treatment of patients with OCD is a type of cognitive behavior therapy called exposure and response prevention (2013).

The following resources can be helpful in referring clients to diagnose treat their OCD:

https://www.treatmyocd.com/about-us/our-story

https://www.amitahealth.org/find-a-service/behavioral-medicine/programs/conditions-and-treatments/obsessive-compulsive-disorder

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Why NOCD?

Learn about OCD

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From Personal Struggle to Powerful Solution

Stephen Smith

Founder and CEO

My life was going great. I was an award-winning college quarterback with a vibrant social life and a bright future ahead of me. But then OCD came out of nowhere and derailed everything.

I started having repeated intrusive thoughts that made me doubt the most fundamental characteristics about myself. Depression hit, and it felt like I was stuck. I went from college quarterback to housebound in six months due to misdiagnosed and untreated OCD.

It took a lot of time and money to access effective OCD treatment, but once I had the right diagnosis and found the right therapy, my mental health improved, I returned to school, and I finished my football career. I felt like I had a future once again.

Getting the treatment I needed to conquer OCD was a battle on its own. It made me wonder: Why isn't effective care more accessible and affordable to those of us struggling with OCD?

NOCD is on a clear mission:

To create a world where anyone can access effective OCD therapy, no matter where they live or how much money they make.

On average, it takes 17 years for people with OCD to get proper treatment due to high costs and a shortage of specialists. NOCD is changing that. We offer Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy, the most proven OCD treatment, and partner with insurance plans to make it affordable. Inside the NOCD platform, you can do live video sessions with a licensed ERP therapist, and get support between sessions from self-help tools and peer communities.

Our work at NOCD is just getting started

NOCD continues to break new ground in the field of mental health care. Here is what we've accomplished so far

40% reduction in symptoms

NOCD has demonstrated clinical outcomes where we see a reduction in symptoms of 40% in OCD and related disorders such as anxiety and depression in 90-120 days.

See how it works >

50% more efficient

We typically see outcome improvement between 11 and 13 clinical hours which is approximately 50% more efficient than the national average for the typical CBT therapy.

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50 states & 4 countries

NOCD has expanded to provide care in all 50 US states, the UK, Australia and 6 provinces in Canada.

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1 in 3 covered

NOCD partners with many major insurance plans to make therapy convenient and affordable.

200+ OCD-specialized therapists

The NOCD network has grown to over 200 therapists who receive specialized training in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Therapy, the gold-standard in treatment for OCD.

Find a specialty-trained OCD therapist for you >

12,000+ therapy sessions per month

With our national provider network we've grown from hundreds of virtual face-to-face sessions to thousands per month. This is in pursuit of NOCD's goal to end the global suffering caused by OCD.

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100,000+ engagements per month

NOCD is home to the largest online OCD community with over 100,000 community member engagements per month across all of our platforms.

Join the conversation >

The people that drive the mission

Our team is composed of people eager to drive our mission forward. Some of us have even faced the challenges with OCD, and arrive motivated to help people get better. Our passion will help us reach our goals of bringing accessible OCD care to every person who needs it.

Our Dedicated Board

Glen Tullman

Executive Chairman

Stephen Smith

Founder & CEO

Larry Trusky

COO

Alyssa Jaffee

Board Observer

Dave Tamburri

Board Member

Peter Christman

Board Member

Jessie Laurash

Board Observer

Our Amazing Team

We're developers, designers, clinicians, marketers, data analysts, and so much more — all brought together by a common goal: to help people with OCD get better and stay better.

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Keep up with the latest from NOCD

Read the latest news about NOCD.

We're hiring! Join our awesome team.

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Why we started NOCD and what are our goals. Read along to know the story about starting NOCD.

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This resource provide worksheets and exercises that are downloadable to use with clients.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Worksheets | Psychology Tools

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Download professional and self-help resources for managing intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. Treat OCD more effectively.

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Career choices and OCD – the right balance. Mental Help Career Choices and OCD The Right Balance Comments. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/career-choices-and-ocd-the-right-balance/

Exposure and response prevention (ERP). International OCD Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/ocd-treatment/erp/

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) treatment: Amita health: Chicago, IL. Amita Health. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.amitahealth.org/find-a-service/behavioral-medicine/programs/conditions-and-treatments/obsessive-compulsive-disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) worksheets. Psychology Tools. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.psychologytools.com/professional/problems/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/

OCD-support groups.io group. Groups.io. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://groups.io/g/OCD-Support