OCD & ERP Therapy in Orange County, CA
Specialized OCD treatment for children, teens, and adults.
At Nourish Your Mind, we help clients understand OCD, reduce compulsions and avoidance, and build confidence navigating uncertainty through evidence-based treatment.
In-person therapy in Anaheim + online throughout California
Does OCD Leave You Questioning Everything?
What if something bad happens?
What if I made the wrong decision?
What if this thought means something about me?
How can I know for sure?
You may find yourself checking, avoiding, repeating, asking for reassurance, reviewing situations in your mind, or trying to find the “right” answer just to feel okay again.
The relief may come, but often only temporarily.
What Is OCD?
OBSESSIONS
Intrusive thoughts, images, sensations, fears, or doubts that create distress or uncertainty.
COMPULSIONS
Behaviors or mental actions someone feels driven to perform to reduce distress, prevent something bad from happening, or finally feel certain.
Compulsions aren't always visible.
You may replay conversations, analyze your feelings, review memories, compare experiences, mentally check how you reacted to something, or repeatedly try to reassure yourself that everything is okay.
OCD Can Show Up in Many Different Ways
Intrusive Thoughts
Unwanted thoughts, images or impulses that feel distressing or inconsistent with who you are.
Checking OCD
Repeatedly checking something physically or mentally to feel certain.
“Just Right” OCD
Feeling compelled to repeat or adjust something until it feels complete or correct.
Relationship OCD
Persistent doubts and uncertainty surrounding relationships or feelings.
Moral/Scrupulosity OCD
Fears about morality, religion, intentions or being a “bad” person.
Contamination OCD
Fear surrounding germs, illness, contamination or spreading harm.
Health fears • Harm OCD • Mental compulsions • Reassurance seeking • Perfectionism • Excessive responsibility • Decision-making fears
Understanding the OCD Cycle
Treatment helps interrupt the cycle.
What Is ERP Therapy?
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a specialized form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and a first-line psychological treatment for OCD.
The name can sound intimidating, but ERP should not mean being thrown into your biggest fear or being forced to do something you aren't ready to do.
Treatment is collaborative.
ERP Might Help You Practice...
Leaving something imperfect
without immediately correcting it.
Reducing reassurance
even when your mind wants certainty.
Resisting “one more check”
and allowing uncertainty to remain.
Having an intrusive thought
without analyzing what it means.
Making a decision
without repeatedly reviewing whether it was right.
Approaching something you've avoided
while allowing discomfort to rise and fall naturally.
Together, we identify the situations, thoughts, sensations, or uncertainties that trigger OCD. We then gradually practice approaching those experiences while reducing the compulsions and avoidance that have been keeping the OCD cycle going.
Over time, the goal is not necessarily to make uncomfortable thoughts disappear.
Instead, you learn:
“I can experience this thought, feeling, or uncertainty without letting it decide what I do next.”
Our Approach to OCD Treatment
ERP
Approach fears and uncertainty while reducing compulsions and avoidance.
CBT
Understand how thoughts, emotions and behaviors interact to maintain distress.
ACT
Learn to make room for uncomfortable experiences while choosing actions based on your values.
ERP Doesn't Mean Therapy Without Compassion
Facing fears can be difficult.
That's why our approach to OCD treatment also incorporates ACT and CBT to help clients understand their patterns, build psychological flexibility, reconnect with their values, and develop a different relationship with difficult thoughts and emotions.
You won't be asked to prove that your fears are irrational or simply “think positively.”
Instead, we'll work collaboratively to help you recognize when OCD is pulling you into a cycle and practice responding differently.
Treatment should challenge OCD while still respecting the person experiencing it.
Therapy at Nourish Your Mind is individualized to each client's needs. To learn more about the types of sessions we offer, explore our therapy services.
OCD Therapy for Children & Teens
OCD can be particularly confusing for children and teenagers.
A child may know that something doesn't quite make sense while still feeling like they have to complete a ritual.
Parents may find themselves answering the same questions repeatedly, changing family routines, helping a child avoid triggers, or participating in rituals simply because they hate seeing their child distressed.
These responses come from a place of love, but sometimes they can unintentionally help OCD become stronger.
ERP can be adapted to a child's developmental level and approached in ways that feel collaborative, understandable, and encouraging.
Parent Support Can Be Part of Treatment
When appropriate, treatment at Nourish Your Mind can include parent support and limited family involvement to help loved ones understand OCD, reduce accommodations, and learn how to support progress outside of therapy.
What If I'm Afraid to Start ERP?
That's okay.
You don't have to walk into your first appointment feeling completely ready to face your fears.
In fact, feeling nervous about OCD treatment is understandable. Compulsions and avoidance may have helped you feel safer for a long time, even if they've also made your world smaller.
We can start by understanding what OCD looks like for you, what it has been costing you, and what you would want your life to look like if OCD weren't making so many decisions.
You don't need perfect confidence before beginning.
Sometimes willingness starts with simply deciding that you want something to change.
Specialized OCD Treatment at Nourish Your Mind
Shannon Dávila, LMFT
Owner & Lead Therapist
Specializes in OCD, Anxiety & Eating Disorders
Trained in ERP, CBT & ACT
Active member of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)
Active member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT)
OCD Therapy in Anaheim & Orange County
Nourish Your Mind
6200 East Canyon Rim Road, Suite 215-F
Anaheim, CA 92807
In-person OCD therapy is available from our Anaheim office, conveniently located for clients in Anaheim Hills and surrounding Orange County communities.
Online OCD therapy is also available throughout California.
Frequently Asked Questions About OCD Therapy
-
OCD and anxiety can overlap, which can make it difficult to tell what you’re experiencing. OCD often involves intrusive thoughts, fears, or doubts followed by compulsions; such as checking, reassurance seeking, avoiding, researching, or mentally reviewing to feel safer or more certain. Anxiety may involve excessive worry without the same pattern of compulsions. An assessment can help us better understand your symptoms and determine what type of treatment may be most helpful.
-
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a specialized form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy commonly used to treat OCD. ERP involves gradually practicing facing feared thoughts, situations, sensations, or uncertainty while reducing the compulsions and avoidance you normally use to feel better. Over time, you can learn that you’re capable of experiencing discomfort and uncertainty without letting OCD determine what you do next.
-
No. ERP should be collaborative and individualized—not about forcing you into your biggest fear before you’re ready. We’ll first work to understand your OCD patterns and develop a treatment plan together. Exposures are approached intentionally, with the goal of helping you build confidence and practice responding differently to fear and uncertainty over time.
-
Yes. Nourish Your Mind provides OCD treatment for children, preteens, teenagers, and adults. ERP can be adapted to a child or teen’s age and developmental needs so treatment feels understandable and collaborative. When helpful, parents or caregivers may also be involved to learn how to reduce reassurance and other accommodations while supporting progress at home.
-
Yes. ERP can often be provided effectively through telehealth, and online sessions can even allow us to work with OCD in the environment where symptoms naturally occur. Nourish Your Mind offers online OCD and ERP therapy for clients located throughout California, as well as in-person sessions at our Anaheim office.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If OCD has been taking up too much space in your life, you don't have to wait until you feel completely ready or certain before asking for help.
We offer a free 15-minute introductory call to help determine whether Nourish Your Mind may be a good fit for you or your child.
In-person in Anaheim • Online throughout California