Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

How can I help you with OCD?

For so many people it can feel like a daily battle with OCD. Wanting to get better and at the same time feeling scared to make changes. I have been helping clients recover from OCD for a long time and I know how hard it can seem to try to treat yourself. On the one hand the advice via self-help books, social media and other sources can seem promising and encouraging but actually putting it into practice on your own can be tough. One recurring problem I have noticed is that techniques drawn from different approaches are not always compatible and when used together may cancel each other out. Another common problem appears to be people almost managing to put something into practice but just getting it slightly wrong. This can be so deflating when you think you are putting in so much effort for something to simply not work. 

So we need to help you get on the right track for you, focusing on one specific treatment plan and refining what you have been trying out already. This can make it seem less confusing because you know where you are going and what the rationale is for your treatment. OCD is a solvable problem.

In OCD compulsions are acts that you repeat over and over again in response to an obsession. E.g., checking, repeating acts, mental rituals, counting, ordering or arranging. Common obsessions that I work with:

• Sexual thoughts or images 

• Fear of contamination from germs, viruses, bodily fluids, sticky substances etc

• Thoughts or images of violence e.g. stabbing someone you love, cutting yourself with a knife

• Excessive concern with exactness, order or symmetry

• Obsessions with the body or physical symptoms 

• Recurrent thoughts about life and death e.g. why do I exist and what will happen after I die?

TESTIMONIALS

CBT (Metacognitive Therapy), EMDR and DBR for fear of contamination from asbestos

Sarah was recommended to me when I was struggling with a dread of being contaminated by asbestos. It had reached a point that I didn’t even want to leave the house. I wouldn’t even go into the garden. I couldn’t say the word “asbestos” and if I ever heard the word, I felt sick in the pit of my stomach. I knew I needed to do something, but I didn’t want to. Finally, my family convinced me to phone Sarah. 

The CBT was effective and I made some good progress with that.  The DBR was really powerful and helped with deeper issues that were associated with my fear of asbestos, that I wasn’t aware of. I felt really comfortable with Sarah and at ease each time.  She actually listened to me and never made me feel like I was silly.

I would encourage anyone who is struggling with a fear like this to seek help as I am glad I did.

(In person, male, aged 31, Dec 2024)

Metacognitive therapy (MCT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Harm OCD and a chronic health condition

When I first saw Sarah, I was feeling really down and was dragging myself through each day not knowing how to cope with the OCD. I was overwhelmed with harm OCD and was hating myself because of the thoughts that were entering my mind. My chronic health condition makes life challenging for me and I felt so hopeless having both to cope with. 

I learnt that I do have agency over my compulsions, for example I used to try to block out the intrusions and would try to avoid anything that might trigger them. Whereas before therapy, they felt like they were out of control. With the help of metacognitive therapy and ACT (both forms of CBT) I have started to turn my life around. Sarah made me feel safe and heard throughout our sessions and her style of therapy really clicked with me. It allowed me to make the changes necessary to move forward with my life and learn to manage my health condition.

(Female, age 25, virtual sessions, April 23)

CBT and Flash Technique for OCD

It used to take me half an hour to leave the house because of all my checking. Sometimes I would leave the house only to come back a few minutes later and check everything again. I felt embarrassed and it was such a big hindrance in my life. I believed I would always have to rely on other people - for example, my husband to lock the door or to be there to make sure I had done it. 

Through working with Sarah, I learned what was maintaining my problem. I learned appropriate strategies so that I could make proactive changes. We also used the Flash Technique. This helped to reduce the intensity of some of my intrusive thoughts and helped me to manage my compulsions. It enhanced my belief in myself.

Additionally, I experienced a traumatic event during the time we were working together. Flash Technique helped me to deal with this.

(Female, age 34)

CBT for OCD during the pandemic

I developed OCD in the middle of my PhD which got worse during the pandemic. I tried to cope by myself but when it got so bad, I didn't eat or work anymore. I decided I should do some therapy. Sarah had been recommended to me and we had a journey together to accept my OCD and work to overcome it and live with it. After 20 sessions I live (nearly) as normal as before, I can work and I feel hopeful about finishing my PhD. I feel I cope really well with the pandemic. My mental health is even better than before my OCD developed. CBT is an amazing tool and is applicable to any situation in life! I definitely recommend working with Sarah using CBT!

(Female, aged 28, virtual sessions, April 2021)

CBT for OCD -  Sexual Content and Fear of Contamination

After having mild OCD for 6 years, which I thought I was managing properly, it suddenly got a lot worse, when the sexual intrusive thoughts became more frequent and distressing. They were causing me a great deal of anxiety and impacting my life to a great degree. 

I began Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) with Sarah. I noticed a great improvement and reduction in intrusive sexual thoughts after 5 sessions. In my following appointments we worked on contamination OCD, which has hugely improved. I have gained the tools and skills to prevent a relapse. I have also developed greater insight about what maintains OCD. I realised that I had not been managing my intrusions effectively or helpfully over the past 6 years which allowed them to increase.

I was very glad that I didn’t have to go into detail about my intrusive thoughts and I have felt very comfortable throughout my time with Sarah.  I was surprised how quickly I improved because I was initially concerned that it may take many sessions.  All of our sessions have been virtual as I don’t drive and I live some distance away. I have been pleased how accessible and easy it has been working this way. 

(Male, aged 18, September 2020, virtual sessions)

CBT for OCD – fear of acting on an impulse to injure myself

My mood has gradually got better over the 4 CBT sessions with Sarah. She used a type of CBT called Metacognitive Therapy (MCT). In the past I had general counselling, although this was good at the time, it was more of a short term fix. I think CBT suits me better. I like the fact that Sarah gave me techniques and skills to work on throughout my day. I was really impressed how quickly the CBT acted upon my behaviour when I changed my attitude to my thoughts.  I no longer have the fear that I might injure myself.

It worked really well having the sessions virtually, as I didn’t have to travel and could fit it in easily with my life.

(Male, aged 20, July 2020, virtual sessions)

CBT for Postnatal OCD

Throughout my life I have had periods of OCD which had a theme of responsibility for other people. After the birth of my second child, I had a sudden onset of OCD. I felt like I was losing my mind and this felt extremely frightening. I got in touch with Sarah who let me know she had experience of working with postpartum OCD and I felt reassured.

After 5 hours of CBT, I  no longer have symptoms of OCD. Plus I feel I have gained insight into myself and feel a better person for it. Initially I had felt nervous about sharing with Sarah what was going through my mind, but knowing that she had treated a lot of other people with OCD put my mind at ease. 

(Female, aged 30, February 2020)

CBT for the treatment of OCD in overcoming obsessions with a sexual content

I was feeling generally down and then it suddenly felt as if I spiralled out of control, having obsessive unwanted intrusions of a sexual nature. This caused me severe distress and sent me into a highly anxious and depressed state. I genuinely thought things would never get better and was contemplating taking my life.

I came to see Sarah for 9 sessions of CBT earlier this year. With her help, I was able to gain a greater understanding of myself. She taught how to control my thought processes and helped me make some lifestyle changes, which have contributed hugely to the improvement of my mental well-being. 

I have since had a follow up session 5 months after I finished the CBT treatment and have grown in leaps and bounds. If you are reading this and are suffering with similar mental health challenges, I would like you to know that CBT really did help me. 

(Male, aged 21, December 2019)

ACT and EMDR for the treatment of recurrent obsessions about death

“I came to see Sarah because I was troubled by recurrent obsessions about death. I had these obsessions in my youth and was treated by medication. However, I never learned how to handle these intrusions. When these returned this year I was overwhelmed and sought help.

Sarah taught me techniques to manage these frequent and distressing intrusions about death. She also instilled in me confidence and I feel empowered. After 9 sessions I now rarely get intrusions about death and they are no longer distressing because I know how to manage them more effectively. I particularly liked the Acceptance and Commitment (ACT) and EMDR aspects of the therapy.

It feels like the complete package of treatment has helped. I continue to practice what Sarah has taught me and I can imagine myself doing this for the rest of my life, because it is helping me.”

(Male aged 38, November 2019)

CBT for OCD

Following medical diagnosis, I decided to opt for private therapy and started to see Sarah for help. With Sarah I was able to understand the patterns of my obsessive thoughts and the resulting rituals. Going through them one by one Sarah introduced a range of techniques which I could apply to different situations depending on the type of ritual or intrusive thought. 

Some of the techniques that I was introduced to seemed too simple to be effective but with perseverance and a lot of encouragement from Sarah I was very surprised at the positive results.

At the end of therapy my life has turned around, I am no longer controlled by intrusive thoughts. I am able to ignore them and carry on with the task at hand wether it's housework, socialising or just relaxing by applying the techniques Sarah taught me. 

(Female, age 26)

CBT for the treatment of OCD obsessions with a sexual content.

“I was very distressed by the intrusive thoughts I was getting. I had become highly anxious about abusing a child, even though I knew I would never do this and had no interest in that type of thing. I also had intrusive doubts about my sexuality.  I tried hard to deal with this on my own, but some of the things I was doing were actually making it worse. 

After reading some of her testimonials, I contacted Sarah. I have had 5 sessions of a form of CBT known as Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) and no longer have OCD. I am now in a good relationship with someone and am moving on with my life. I am writing this testimonial to let other people know they are not alone with this type of OCD and to give hope.”

(Male, aged 28, December 2019)

Testimonial for treating OCD and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) using CBT

I came to see Sarah after many years of suffering from Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Sarah helped me not only to gain a greater understanding of these conditions and how they occur, but also gave me concrete tools to overcome them. The strategies that we worked on together began to bring me relief straight away, and over time I really began to feel like myself again. I cannot recommend Sarah highly enough: she is extremely knowledgeable and incredibly supportive. OCD can be an extremely traumatic condition, but there is definitely hope for recovery. 

(Female)

Testimonial for CBT for the treatment of OCD and health anxiety

I contacted Sarah because I had become really distressed by my intrusive thoughts. These ranged from thoughts of hurting someone close to me even though I knew I would never do it, to worrying that I had a severe mental health issue, i was avoiding certain situations because I was scared I might act upon these thoughts, even though deep down I knew I wouldn't. For example, I would purposively not stand or sit on a balcony in case I jumped off.

Sarah used a CBT treatment plan to help me. It has been very useful. Even though I had read a lot about OCD and mental health on the internet, it was different and more beneficial for me to explore this with someone who is a professional in this area and has a good understanding of mental health. I learnt some very useful techniques. I practiced these between sessions and we were able to ensure I used these optimally.

I gained reassurance from knowing that what I was experiencing was more common than I thought it was. This helped put things into perspective.

(Male, aged 21)

Testimonial for CBT for OCD

When I first visited Sarah I was suffering with OCD. At the time I was obsessively checking doors, various locks, taps, gas, water and electrics. I would regularly return and to do numerous checks once I had left the house. Sometimes I would be 15 minutes from home and still return. I would convince myself that catastrophic things had happened, such as of my property and the house being on fire.

I am really pleased to say that I have learned to control my obsessive behaviour using CBT. Sarah taught me how to use CBT to my advantage. I had tried self help books in the past to no avail. In my opinion working with a therapist has made all the difference. It has kept me on track. With self help books in the past I had often given up or not being fully committed.

(Male, aged 75) 

Testimonial for CBT for OCD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

I came for therapy when I noticed my OCD had become worse. I was using my OCD behaviour as a means to cope with some stressful life events, even though I knew it was not the best way. We did some work on my compulsions. I had been performing these repetitive behaviours to reduce my anxiety and to prevent dreaded events from happening (e.g. harm happening to loved ones).

Sarah helped me to realise that I was also experiencing Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and I was worrying excessively about several different things.  She taught me ways to manage my worry. As a result, I felt less stressed and anxious and I therefore did not need to rely on my obsessive compulsive behaviour to try to control my high level of anxiety.

I developed a good clinical understanding of OCD and GAD and what was maintaining them.  I learnt robust techniques, which I practise daily and find these really help.  I feel like I have a library of practical strategies to apply when necessary.  Thankfully I no longer have OCD or GAD. 

I found Sarah to be encouraging, non-judgemental, understanding, compassionate and with a flexible approach.  I am so grateful for her help. I cannot thank her enough.

(Female age 51)