Kaduk Therapy
therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Online in Washington state
What is ocd?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is more than a habit or a quirky behavior—it’s a mental health condition that can significantly impact your daily activities. It’s a pattern of intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions), that can leave you feeling trapped in a cycle of anxiety and relief-seeking.
People with OCD often go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for 10+ years. This can be due to not seeing the behaviors as problematic or fear of judgement surrounding the mental health condition, so seeking help is delayed. The general public and some healthcare professionals also may not be fully aware of the diverse presentations of OCD leading to misdiagnosis.
How I can help
OCD and anxiety are not the same, but anxiety does have a strong hold in OCD.
As a therapist trained in both Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Inference-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT), I offer evidence-based treatment methods tailored to your unique experience with OCD. My goal is to help you break free from the constant grip of OCD and regain control over your life.
You can decide which treatment option feels the best fit for you, and I'm happy to discuss them further to help you decide.
ERP or I-CBT?
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Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is considered the gold standard in treating OCD. It involves two main components:
Exposure: Gradually and intentionally confronting situations, thoughts, or images that trigger your anxiety—without performing the compulsive behaviors. This helps desensitize your brain to the distressing stimuli over time. Allowing your body and brain to build confidence in understanding your ability to tolerate the discomfort and learn that your anxiety will naturally decrease over time.
Response Prevention: Learning to resist the urge to perform compulsive actions. Over time, this breaks the cycle of OCD and reduces the need to engage in rituals.
ERP is effective because it allows you to experience anxiety without the "safety" of compulsions, helping you learn that your fears often don’t come true and that anxiety naturally decreases over time.
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Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (IB-CBT)
Inference-Based CBT focuses on how OCD leads to mistaken conclusions about your thoughts and the world around you. It helps you recognize and challenge the irrational beliefs that keep OCD alive, such as:
"If I don’t do this ritual (cleaning, checking, counting, googling, needing others to reassure things are ok, etc.), something bad will happen."
"Having this thought means I’m a bad person."
By using I-CBT, we’ll work together to uncover the thinking patterns that fuel your OCD and shift those beliefs toward healthier, more realistic perspectives. With I-CBT, you’ll learn that thoughts themselves are not dangerous and don’t have to dictate your behavior.
Thoughts do not equal action or behaviors.
