The OCD Stories

In episode 271 I interview Dr Ben Sedley. Ben is a clinical psychologist from New Zealand. He has authored two books, and runs a private practice called ACT Wellington. In this episode I chat with Ben about his therapy journey, what is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), how Relational Frame Theory (RFT) underpins ACT, how ACT can be useful for OCD, Ben gives examples of how ACT enhances ERP, ACT’s view of suffering, we talk about grief and OCD, his and Lisa Coyne’s book ‘Stuff that’s loud’ an ACT book for teens with OCD, his book ‘Stuff that sucks’, the importance of listening to teens, the ACT metaphors Ben likes, and much much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/ben-sedley-271 The podcast is made possible by and sponsored by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

In episode 270 I chat with Laura Johnson. Laura is the creator of OCD Doodles and has kindly agreed to share her story with us. In this episode I chat with Laura about her story, her earliest experience, existential and superstitious worries, how as a kid seeing a school shooting on TV triggered worries of harm coming to her family, how OCD impacted her family as a child, contamination worries, relationship worries, drinking alcohol to self-medicate, seeking help, taking medication, her treatment journey from getting the wrong types of therapy, her negative experiences of working with a coach, finally getting therapy with a qualified therapist experienced in OCD, feeling guilty around harm OCD, parenting while dealing with OCD, and much much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/laura-johnson-ocd-doodles-270 The podcast is made possible by and sponsored by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

In episode 269 I chat with Dr. Michael J. Greenberg. Michael is a licensed clinical psychologist.  He is the director of OCD Associates, a practice specializing in Rumination-Focused ERP. In this episode I chat with Michael about why rumination is a compulsion, rumination focused exposure and response prevention (RF-ERP), how his approach to treating OCD doesn’t fit with the habituation model of ERP but how it’s closer to the inhibitory learning model approach, he gives examples how he does ERP, how and why he focuses on getting his client’s anxiety close to zero before doing an ERP exercise, why he focuses on eliminating rumination first before physical compulsions, the difference between thinking normally and ruminating, noticing when you are ruminating, and much much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/dr-michael-greenberg-269 The podcast is made possible by and sponsored by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

In episode 268 I chat with Neil Hemmer. Neil is a therapist with a masters in social work, and has plenty of personal experience with OCD. He has kindly agreed to share his story with us.  In this episode I chat with Neil about his story, his early memories, contamination OCD, he gives his candid account of intrusive thoughts, his faith, religious OCD, medication, self medicating with alcohol, relationship OCD, obsessive worries about having sexually assaulted someone, harm OCD, suicidal ideation, hitting rock bottom, addiction and OCD, going inpatient for OCD and addiction, smart recovery for addiction, writing scripts in exposure and response prevention theory (ERP), he shares some graphic stories of his clients in the aim to give hope, and much much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/story-neil-hemmer-268 The podcast is made possible by and sponsored by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

In episode 267 I chat with  Lou who has kindly agreed to share her story with us. In this episode I chat with Lou about her story, ruminating, reassurance seeking, not feeling good enough, self medicating at a young age with alcohol and drugs, how the birth of her first child triggered an OCD episode, peadophile themed OCD (pOCD), worries of her and others harming her baby (postpartum OCD/maternal OCD), feeling like a bad person, getting therapy, dealing with anger, discovering Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT), eventually deciding to take medication and her experiences, the various triggers around her children, telling her husband something wasn’t feeling right, a fear of upsetting people, the OCD camp, what else helps her with her well being, and much much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/story-lou-267 The podcast is made possible by and sponsored by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

In episode 266 I chat with Dr Jonathan Abramowitz. Jonathan is a clinical psychologist with a private practice in Chapel Hill, NC specializing in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). He is also Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. And author of several bookings including Getting over OCD, and The family guide to getting over OCD.  In this episode I chat with Jon about why he wrote this book, how the family system plays into OCD and vice versa, he writes the book from two perspectives: one, the loved one with OCD wants to get better, and two, the loved one with OCD doesn’t want to do treatment, we discuss family accommodation and why it’s not helpful, how to stop accommodating your loved one, we discuss treatment refusal (when someone refuses to get help), we discuss the difference between a reward and a bribe for children, setting boundaries, how to get family life back on track even if a loved one refuses to get help, how to listen to and talk to your loved one with OCD, what areas of OCD research Jon is excited by, and much much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/the-family-guide-to-getting-over-ocd-266 The podcast is made possible by and sponsored by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories Thank you for listening to this week’s podcast. If you enjoy The OCD Stories and would like to support us with a one time tip/donation please go to theocdstories.com/support. All tips, no matter how large or small are greatly appreciated.

In episode 265 I chat with Chance McNeely who has kindly agreed to share his story with us. In this episode I chat with Chance about his OCD story, themes - sexual orientation OCD, harm OCD, relationship OCD, pedophile OCD, growing up in an anxious household, compulsively overthinking things, finding out about intrusive thoughts, peer support, self-compassion as his saving grace, becoming a certified peer, working for OCD Peers, and much much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/story-chance-mcneely-265 The podcast is made possible by and sponsored by NOCD. NOCD are now in the UK. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

In episode 264 I chat with Mike Vatter who has kindly agreed to share his story with us. Mike is on the board of OCD Jacksonville. In this episode I chat with Mike about his OCD story, things having to be just right, panic attacks, hitting breaking point, pulling hair, how his first therapist thought he didn’t have OCD, how a hit and run OCD episode helped him get an OCD diagnosis, using humour to make it easier, meeting his biological parents, and much much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/story-mike-vatter-264 The podcast is made possible by and sponsored by NOCD. NOCD are now in the UK. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

In episode 263 I chat with Dr Steven Phillipson. Steven is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for OCD. Steven is the Clinical Director at the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy in New York. In this episode I chat with Steven about what is somatic (sensorimotor) OCD, neutral obsessions, obsessions and compulsions of this theme, how depersonalisation/derealisation may be a subset of this theme, how certain personality styles may play into this theme, how often he sees this theme in his private practice, he gives case examples, the focus of therapy for this theme, examples of exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), why Steve gets his patients to record each therapy session, what he wishes he knew when he started his journey in therapy, Steve’s biggest life influences, and much much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/dr-steven-phillipson-somatic-ocd-263 The podcast is made possible by and sponsored by NOCD. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

In episode 262 I chat with Chrissie Hodges. Chrissie is a certified peer and family support specialist in Colorado, and co-founder of OCDPeers.com. Chrissie was awarded the hero award by the IOCDF for her advocacy work.  In this episode I chat with Chrissie about what’s new with her and her work, what’s new with the OCD Gamechangers, what is (certified) peer support, what it is not, what does a peer conversation look like, how peer support can support the therapy process, what is OCD peers, the most attended group topics at OCD peers, what Chrissie has learned about OCD in the last 12 months, her learnings about advocacy, and much much more. Hope it helps. Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/chrissie-hodges-peer-support-for-ocd-262 This episode is sponsored by OCD Jacksonville and Natural Life. Shop the Fearless collection of apparel and gifts here https://www.naturallife.com/collections/fearless-giveback-collection. Use code “FEARLESS” at the checkout for 20% off the Fearless range. To find out more about OCD Jacksonville click here: https://ocdjacksonville.com/