The OCD Stories

Stuart Ralph
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Oct 5, 2025 • 57min

Dr Sam Greenblatt: Unlocking Relationship OCD (ROCD) treatment (#506)

In episode 506 I chat with Dr Sam Greenblatt. Sam is a licensed clinical psychologist.  We discuss an update on him, relationship OCD (ROCD) using his personal story as a case study, improving ROCD treatment, exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), internal family systems (IFS) therapy, working with other emotions around ROCD, feeling emotions without analysing them, improving relationships, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/sam-506 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Join many other listeners getting our weekly emails. Never miss a podcast episode or update: https://theocdstories.com/newsletter 
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Sep 28, 2025 • 43min

Dr Fahad Khan: Islamic religious OCD (Waswasa & OCD) (#505)

In episode 505 I chat with Dr Fahad Khan. Fahad is a licensed clinical psychologist. He currently serves as the Deputy Director at Khalil Center, providing psychological services while supervising clinical and research work. He co-wrote The Islamic Workbook for Religious OCD: A Guide for Overcoming Intrusive Thoughts and Compulsions. We discuss his therapy story, waswasa, compulsive prayer, helping Imans and other community members in understanding OCD, exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), culturally attuned ERP, Traditional Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy (TIIP), words of hope and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/fahad-505 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Join many other listeners getting our weekly emails. Never miss a podcast episode or update: https://theocdstories.com/newsletter  Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast 
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Sep 21, 2025 • 53min

Story: Jack Henderson (OCD, eating disorder, therapy, poetry) (#504)

In episode 504 I chat with Jack who has kindly agreed to share his OCD story with us.  We discuss his OCD story, guilt and shame, diet and exercise as part of OCD, an eating disorder diagnosis, exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), medication, support groups, being creative, expressing through poetry, the idea of signal vs noise, self compassion, he reads some of his poetry, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/jack-504  The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Join many other listeners getting our weekly emails. Never miss a podcast episode or update: https://theocdstories.com/newsletter  Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast 
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Sep 14, 2025 • 51min

Samantha Faden & Dr Jenifer Cullen: Successfully adjusting OCD therapy for autistic clients (#503)

In episode 503 I chat with Samantha Faden and Dr Jenifer Cullen. Samantha is autistic and has lived experience with OCD. Sam is the client of Dr Cullen. Jenifer M. Cullen, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist at the McLean OCD Institute. We discuss their therapy relationship as therapist and client, how Sam’s therapy journey has gone, what worked, how they learned together over time, getting an autism diagnosis, working out together where autism and OCD starts, ends or overlaps. We also discuss trichotillomania, adjusting exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP) for autistic clients, rupture and repair in the therapeutic relationship, adjusting for sensory sensitivities in ERP, having a sensory overload plan, rating anxiety during exposures through special interests, changing the pace of therapy, having more structure and clarity, changing the language used around autism, motivation in therapy, words of hope, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/sam-and-jen-503 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Join many other listeners getting our weekly emails. Never miss a podcast episode or update: https://theocdstories.com/newsletter  Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast 
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Sep 7, 2025 • 59min

Christopher Weston: OCD story, BDD, and Somatic OCD (#502)

In episode 502 I chat with Christopher Weston. Chris is a therapist (LMFT) specialising in OCD. We discuss his OCD story, his early life experiences that were challenging, panic attacks, somatic/sensorimotor OCD, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and much more. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/chris-502 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Join many other listeners getting our weekly emails. Never miss a podcast episode or update: https://theocdstories.com/newsletter  Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast 
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Aug 31, 2025 • 55min

Alexandra Reynolds: Navigating shame around health anxiety (OCD) (#501)

In episode 501 I chat with Alexandra Reynolds. Alexandra is an OCD Advocate, Community Support Group Leader at NOCD, and is currently doing her graduate clinical training.  We discuss her health anxiety story, stigma around the diagnosis, running her health anxiety support group, shame and guilt around having health anxiety and the compulsions, experiencing stigma or judgement from family and health care professionals, compassion, how family members can support their loved ones, and much more. Hope it helps.  Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/alexandra-501  The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Join many other listeners getting our weekly emails. Never miss a podcast episode or update: https://theocdstories.com/newsletter  Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast 
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Aug 24, 2025 • 49min

The 500th episode. Musings and reflections from a Welsh mountain range.

In episode 500 I, Stuart Ralph, reflect on my journey with The OCD Stories podcast over the last nearly 10 years. To do this I took a hike in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales, UK. Thanks for listening over the last 500 episodes! Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/500 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Here is the form I mentioned for feedback on future episodes of the podcast: https://forms.gle/ZacGhmdxgqa2nUyS8 Join many other listeners getting our weekly emails. Never miss a podcast episode or update: https://theocdstories.com/newsletter  Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast 
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4 snips
Aug 17, 2025 • 41min

Dr Ronald Nicholson: Using humour in OCD therapy (#499)

Join Dr. Ronald Nicholson, a clinical psychologist specializing in humor in OCD therapy. He shares fascinating insights on using laughter as a tool to challenge obsessive thoughts. Discover how humor can create cognitive flexibility and lighten the mood in therapy sessions. Ronald recounts personal anecdotes that illustrate the absurdity of OCD and the science behind laughter's benefits. He emphasizes the importance of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in promoting personal growth and managing anxiety. It's a delightful blend of insight and lightheartedness!
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Aug 10, 2025 • 48min

Jonny Say interviews Stuart on the lead up to episode 500! Podcast beginnings, Stuart’s key learnings, and what helped him (#498)

In episode 498 psychotherapist Jonny Say interviews Stuart. Stuart is the host and founder of The OCD Stories podcast. Stuart is a psychotherapist, and co-founder of The Integrative Centre for OCD Therapy. In the build up to episode 500 Jonny interviews me (Stuart), we discuss the history of the podcast and some of my personal history, how the podcast helped me in the early days and which topics or guests helped in particular, and then how the podcast has helped me as a therapist, the evolution of the podcast, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/stuart-498 The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Join many other listeners getting our weekly emails. Never miss a podcast episode or update: https://theocdstories.com/newsletter  Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast  A live training by Dr Phillipson for therapists: https://www.integrativecentreforocd.co.uk/live-trainings-therapists/phillipson
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Aug 3, 2025 • 43min

Dr Steven Phillipson: Identity contamination, not buying into OCD themes, talking about OCD, ERP tools (#497)

In episode 497 I chat with Dr Steven Phillipson. Steven is a licensed clinical psychologist who specialises in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for OCD. Steven is the Clinical Director at the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy in New York.  We discuss identity contamination as a theme of OCD, the amygdala, not buying into OCD themes, talking about OCD with people, Dr Phillipson’s Cancel Toku list - a list of irrational or maladaptive words and concepts and their more adaptive equivalents, some exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP) tools, and much more. Hope it helps.  Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/phillipson-497  The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories A live training by Dr Phillipson for therapists: https://www.integrativecentreforocd.co.uk/live-trainings-therapists/phillipson Join many other listeners getting our weekly emails. Never miss a podcast episode or update: https://theocdstories.com/newsletter  Thanks to all our patrons for supporting our work. To sign up to our Patreon and to check out the benefits you’ll receive as a Patron, visit: https://www.patreon.com/theocdstoriespodcast 

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