Introducing a New OCD and Anxiety Resource
Welcome, I'm happy you're here!
There are so many reasons I needed to create this site. Where do I start?
I have worked for years as an anxiety and OCD specialist in my private practice and continue to do so. I love this work and can’t imagine anything more rewarding. Yet it is another work experience that inspires this website. It is this experience - and the limitations of the traditional therapy model - that motivated me to share what I know with you.
I served as Clinical Director of a very exclusive, and very expensive, Intensive Outpatient Program in Los Angeles, CA. My treatment program consisted of a combination of behavioral and mindfulness clinical interventions that have been extremely successful in restoring full functioning to individuals attacked by severe and extreme forms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Body-Dysmorphic Disorder, and other OC spectrum and anxiety disorders. People were returned to pre-illness levels of functioning within as few as three weeks of intensive therapy while under my care. It was really an amazing healing process to be a part of, and I truly can say that I witnessed miracles on a regular basis.
The Problem
The problem is that only a small minority of individuals who reached out to our treatment practice could afford the treatment. It felt awful telling people that there was no “sliding scale” and suggesting they enter their zip codes in therapist directories online. When a caller was from outside the United States, we simply had no referral resources. I have spent many hours on the phone with individuals who were hopeless and suffering because of their diagnosis. I have worked within the confines of my position and within the ethical boundaries of my professional license to help where I could, when I could.
The Secret
That is not enough, though. When I, and many talented and knowledgeable Psychologists, Psychiatrists, and therapists know the big secret:
It is simpler than it seems to fix these problems. While there may not be a cure for everything we will address in this site, there is something of a "functional cure" for some and treatment for all.
In fact, there is a lot we can give away to help those who do not have access to the best personal therapy. Anxiety is highly responsive to the treatment methods described in this site.
I thought that if individuals with severe anxiety and obsessive-compulsive symptoms could regain such stark improvements with intensive-outpatient treatment, then surely someone with mild to moderately-severe symptoms could see improvement with DIY treatment.
Wondering how you should take advantage? Here are some ideas:
Consider this information as educational. Psychoeduation is part of every therapy session I have in my practice.
Take inventory of your own thoughts and behaviors and learn just how typical those thoughts are in the obsessive-compulsive and anxiety realms. Feel the stigma begin to lift as you hear about other's experiences. Case illustrations will be provided to help normalize any shame or doubt that symptoms are just symptoms - and not facts.
Share what you learn about yourself with your treatment providers to enhance the work you are doing with them.
If you are fortunate enough to have access to an OCD and anxiety expert near you, and you decide to begin therapy with someone in-person, then you will already have a HUGE head start. You can consider this the foundation for a likely very productive treatment.
Send me your questions or suggestions for how you think this site can help you best.
Sign up to receive The Doctor's Notes in your mailbox. This way, you can be the first to know when new tips and help are posted. Also, you can have access to information that may not appear on the website.
Most importantly, you should use this site to inspire yourself to look toward your future with hope. Help is here, and every day of every year the experts get better at it. So invite yourself along and stay in the loop!
Now, this website is not going to be for everyone. You may have someone in mind who is just too dysfunctional at the moment to benefit from this self-help model. This person will probably need to see a Psychologist and Psychiatrist in person. Severe and extreme cases of OCD and anxiety disorders may require intensive treatment, partial hospitalization, or even inpatient hospitalization. But if you are functioning enough day to day, need to experience relief from anxiety, or simply want to stretch your growth’s edge to improve your quality of life, then this website is for you.
Therapy with a real, live OCD and anxiety specialist will always be my first choice for someone who can access it. But thankfully, it is definitely not the only way to achieve your health goals. The truth is that most cannot access therapy at all - let alone with a specialist.
Help Should Be Widely Accessible
I have created, collected, and curated content that I believe should be widely available to all, and I am organizing it here for you. You will find it in the On The Pulse blog and in the Tools and Programs pages of this site.
In the spirit of helping others through your own experiences, I hope you tell me what you would like to learn and understand better so I can provide a valuable resource to all, regardless of geographical location, financial situation, or type of anxiety or obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Thank you for being here, and I hope to connect with you soon!
This article is for informational purposes only, even if and to the extent that it features the advise of medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advise, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.
