Working With Parents and Partners: Emily Risinger

If you have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or a related disorder, you’ve probably heard how helpful it can be to see a therapist trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), particularly exposure and response prevention (ERP). But what about working with a therapist and your partner so you can take your treatment even further at home—and work…

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Finding Support for OCD: Leah Adair

Leah Adair is a delight! I’m lucky enough to know her, and today you get to know more about her and her journey with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Leah is full of positivity and insight and realizes that even with the torture that OCD has caused in her life she still has plenty to be thankful…

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Host of The OCD Stories: Stuart Ralph

I’ve recently gotten into podcasts (did you know they’ve been a thing for, like, years now?), so I was happy to come across the aptly titled The OCD Stories, a well-done, inspirational podcast and website run by the fellow I’m hosting today: Stuart Ralph. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Stu in person, but…

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Draw Your Monster: Sean Shinnock

It’s the Tuesday of OCD Conference week, and I’m excited to be hosting someone you’ll have a chance to meet, learn from, and be inspired by this weekend. Sean has taken huge leaps in his recovery in the past few years, moving out of his dad’s house to residential treatment in Boston to living on his…

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Tackling Taboo Thoughts: Lee Baer

If you follow my blog or know anything about me at all—at least as far as my OCD story goes—you know how much I respect and admire Dr. Lee Baer, author of The Imp of the Mind: Exploring the Silent Epidemic of Obsessive Bad Thoughts. When I finally made an appointment with an OCD specialist and croaked out…

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Author of Overcoming OCD: Janet Singer

Happy Tuesday! I’m pleased to host a fellow blogger and author today, Janet Singer of OCDTalk. Janet is a tireless advocate for the proper treatment for OCD—and she doesn’t even have the disorder herself. After watching her son suffer through many missteps of treatment, Janet dedicated herself to spreading awareness about OCD and how to…

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Being a Face of OCD: Elizabeth McIngvale

I’m so pleased to be hosting International OCD Foundation spokesperson Elizabeth McIngvale this week! When I first started researching OCD, suspecting that I might have it myself, I was comforted to see Elizabeth’s face on the IOCDF home page. It made me realize anyone can have OCD, that it doesn’t discriminate, and that there is hope. While I…

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Overcoming Hit-and-Run OCD: Melanie Lefebvre

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog posts you probably know how much I admire Dr. Lee Baer, author of The Imp of the Mind: Exploring the Silent Epidemic of Obsessive Bad Thoughts, and how I owe so much of my recovery to this book. Well, at the OCD Conference in Los Angeles in July…

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Life After Residential Treatment: Jessica Bishop

Welcome to the first of a new series I’m launching today, Tuesday Q&A! The “Tue” in “Tuesday” kinda, sorta rhymes with “Q,” doesn’t it? (Humor me.) Over the past few years, I’ve met some pretty amazing and inspirational people in the OCD community, and I want to share some of their stories with you. Let’s kick it off with…

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The Thin Line Between Helping and Hindering

Notice the title of this post refers to “hindering,” not “hurting.” I hesitate to refer to any kind of help a person offers as hurtful because the intentions are good. But it’s so often hard to know what to do to help someone with OCD. After my book reading earlier this month, we opened the…

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