Chris takes on the reality that some therapists work to get patients better, not equipping them with tools and strategies needed to maintain their progress over the course of time. While treating anxiety disorders and OCD sounds like enough in and of itself, it is not. That's because there is no cure for OCD. If all we're doing is treating the symptoms, the symptoms will be back and so will the patients. The true gift and purpose of therapy is to teach patients how to get themselves better so that they know how to prevent relapses and stay better over time.

Chris talks through two major challenges to making real and lasting progress with OCD and the anxiety-related disorders. The first challenge is learning how to find compulsions. Many people, including even people who've been to therapy, don't know how to do this. And that's a major problem. Because if they don't know how to find compulsions, then it's only a matter of time before OCD is a step ahead of them again. The second challenge is patience. The truth is getting better in a real way takes time and work. Another way to say that is, it takes patience. And people who want results quickly (and, of course that's all of us to some degree) are in for a rude awakening.

Chris discusses some of the gears and guts of working with Contamination-OCDers.

Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have to [email protected].

If you've found the podcast helpful, consider giving it a 5-star rating.

Chris discusses Relationship OCD, its faces and presentations, and gives some practical tips on what to do if that's YOU.

Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have to [email protected].

If you've found the podcast helpful, consider giving it a 5-star rating.

Chris discusses so-called Just-Right OCD and the feeling that task didn't get completed right. He also presents some variations of Just-Right OCD and subtypes that often present with it.

Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have to [email protected].

If you've found the podcast helpful, consider giving it a 5-star rating.

Chris discusses Illness Anxiety Disorder, and provides a look at the many ways this condition affects patients. He provides examples and shows how some tools can be applied to relevant worries in different ways.

Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have to [email protected].

If you've found the podcast helpful, consider giving it a 5-star rating.

Chris presents and explains a question he asks patients in therapy that is intended to help them summarize in short-form what they're learning in the process of better managing symptoms.

Feel free to reach out with any questions you might have to [email protected].

If you've found the podcast helpful, consider giving it a 5-star rating.