In this special 5-year anniversary episode I share my thoughts on the evolution of the podcast, my own journey with the show, my wish for you the listener, future direction of the show, and of course a thanks to you for listening to the podcast.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/5-years

Thanks for listening,

Stu

In episode 254 I chat with Stephen Johns who has kindly agreed to share his story with us.

In this episode I chat with Stephen about his story, violent, sexual orientation and self harm/suicidal intrusive thoughts, getting ineffective treatment, eventually finding a therapist that helped, working hard in Exposure and Response Prevention therapy (ERP), he goes into details into the lengths he went with his compulsions, his medications, how the suicide of one of his favourite musicians triggered a relapse for him, how perfectionism impacted his therapy, how the experience of OCD taught him to slow down in his life, words of hope and much much more.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/story-stephen-johns-254

In episode 253 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 when other people are the focus of one’s obsessions, he sets up the episode by explaining his view of OCD for context, Dr Phillipson gives a lot of different therapy examples across many themes, how people’s OCD themes involve others, advice and words of hope for the partners and family members who may be the recipient of one’s obsessions, some of the compulsions that may be paired with these obsessional themes, misophonia, I ask him 3 questions about himself and his therapy practice at the end and much much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/dr-steven-phillipson-when-ocd-involves-others-253

In episode 252 I chat with Dr Michael Greenberg. Michael is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

In this episode I chat with Michael about his OCD journey, the line between obsession and compulsion, what is rumination, why rumination is a compulsion, advice on stopping rumination, the idea of a core fear in OCD, the importance of understanding the core fear, how understanding the idea that OCD is a strategy to keep you safe allows you to start to let it go, how rumination may be the core of OCD, the idea of letting go of rumination when scared, how to stop ruminating about ruminating, the issues that may get in the way of stopping rumination, why it matters how we talk about OCD, words of hope and much much more.

The podcast is 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 251 I chat with Ashley Annestedt. Ashley is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in OCD, Anxiety, and Neurobehavioral Disorders. Ashley is licensed to provide therapy in 6 US states, and the founder of Beyond Borders CBT.

In this episode I chat with Ashley about what’s new with her, teletherapy, when teletherapy may be useful, how it can help people do exposures where they are triggered, tips for getting the most out of teletherapy, when teletherapy may not be right, using the interactive features of video therapy platforms, tips for therapists transitioning to teletherapy, what to prepare before your first teletherapy session so that is runs smoothly, words of hope, and much much more.

The podcast is 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 250 I chat with Justin Hughes. Justin is a licensed professional counsellor in Dallas, Texas who specializes in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

In this episode I chat with Justin about his therapy story, how faith/spirituality and therapy can work together, when OCD shakes someone’s faith, Christian scriptures around fear, worry and uncertainty, working with shame from the taboo nature of intrusive thoughts, living with uncertainty, words of hope, and much much more.

The podcast is 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 249 I chat with Dr Ivy Ruths. Ivy is a licensed psychologist and licensed specialist in school psychology specializing in treating anxiety, depressive, and OCD-related disorders.

In this episode I chat with Ivy about why she got into working with people with OCD, living by ones values, the therapeutic relationship, Exposure and Response Prevention therapy (ERP), the importance of doing therapy homework, living with uncertainty, motivation in therapy, words of hope and much much more.

The podcast is 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 248 I chat with Katy Marciniak who has kindly agreed to share her story with us.

In this episode I chat with Katy about her OCD story, how seeing a school shooting on TV triggered her harm worries, googling symptoms and finding relief in what she found, going to get professional help, relationship worries that focused on her marriage, finding an OCD specialist and how that helped her, learning to face the things she was avoiding for years, working on a fear of getting pregnant, the process of recovery, how her husband helps her, working hard at self compassion, words of hope and much much more.

The podcast is 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 247 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 Steve about why some people get more from Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) quicker than others, what is ERP and why it works, what are some common reasons that complicate the success of ERP, he gives plenty of OCD theme examples, when the need to do therapy right can become a secondary obsession itself, the idea of irrelevance, how the therapeutic relationship can affect treatment outcomes, the importance of homework, the importance of doing response prevention when doing exposures, why it’s ok if you don’t get anxious when doing an exposure, mental compulsions, educating significant others, an ideal mindset for doing ERP, why starting too high up the ERP hierarchy may not be a good thing, why building on success in therapy is helpful, how desperation and control can interfere with therapy, and much much more. Hope it helps.

The podcast is 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 246 I chat with Jaclyn Steinmann who has kindly agreed to share her story with us.

In this episode I chat with Jaclyn about her OCD story, suicidal themed obsessions, reassurance seeking, harm obsessions, sexual orientation obsessions, maternal harm obsessions, the different therapies she’s tried, finding Exposure and Response Prevention therapy (ERP), doing ERP with NOCD, the experience of doing teletherapy, how helpful she found ERP, deciding to go on medication for OCD, continuing therapy with a different therapist, what else Jaclyn does to support her mental well being, reducing caffeine and sugar, an existential upbringing, words of hope, and much much more. Hope it helps.

The podcast is 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