Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

You want me to do what?!

Facing your fears. That’s what. I know, it sounds intense and impossible. The way you have been living has stifled you and makes you feel powerless. It keeps you avoiding and fearful. That life doesn’t represent you. We want you to be the best possible version of you. We provide a treatment that will help you get there.

Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy is one of the most effective forms and the “gold standard” of treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

The exposure component of ERP refers to practicing confronting the thoughts, images, objects, and situations that make you anxious and/or provoke your obsessions. The response prevention part of ERP refers to making a choice not to do compulsive behavior once the anxiety or obsessions have been activated. Don’t worry - we won’t push you in a way that feels unsafe or too overwhelming. But it will be uncomfortable.  We are trained to work with you to begin this journey and eventually, you will learn to do your own ERP exercises to help manage your symptoms. Over time, this helps your brain to no longer see the object of the obsession as a threat.

ERP treatment doesn’t remove distressing situations and thoughts, as distress cannot be eliminated from life all together. During this treatment, we will also be working together to build tolerance for and coping with uncertainty and doubt in therapy. The goal of developing an exposure lifestyle is to learn how to get more comfortable with the discomfort of uncertainty.