Leeds Anxiety Clinic

Leeds Anxiety Clinic Leeds Anxiety Clinic is a private treatment service operating from a discreet building on Queen Stre

16/04/2026

Welcome to Leeds Anxiety Clinic. Here is why so many people trust us with their therapy.

09/04/2026

When someone with OCD comes to therapy worried they might act on an intrusive thought, it can be tempting for a therapist to offer reassurance. And in the short term, that reassurance feels helpful.

The problem is that reassurance seeking is at the heart of the OCD cycle. An intrusive thought creates intense anxiety, the person seeks reassurance to relieve it, and they feel better temporarily. But the uncertainty creeps back in, and the cycle starts again.

When a therapist provides reassurance, they risk replicating exactly what is already happening outside of the therapy room with loved ones, doctors, or Google searches. It maintains the cycle rather than breaking it.

A more effective approach is to sit with the difficult emotions that intrusive thoughts bring up, and to develop techniques for responding to them without needing to seek reassurance. That is where lasting change happens.

If you are looking for an OCD therapist, it is worth asking: how much reassurance are they offering? Our latest video explores what to look for.

02/04/2026

Shame is one of the biggest barriers to seeking help for OCD. Many people are living with intrusive thoughts they have never told anyone about, thoughts so distressing that the idea of saying them out loud feels impossible.

There are a couple of things that are worth knowing if this resonates with you.

A specialist service will have heard it all before. The thoughts that feel uniquely horrible to you are the kinds of things we work with every day.

And you do not have to disclose everything from the start. A good OCD therapist will give you the time and space to feel comfortable first. You are in control of if and when you talk about the content of your thoughts.

26/03/2026

Traditional CBT teaches us to examine our intrusive thoughts: weigh the evidence, debate whether they're true. For OCD, this approach can actually make things worse.

OCD thrives on uncertainty. The moment we engage with an intrusive thought, we're signalling that it deserves attention. We're feeding it.

We use an acceptance and commitment approach instead. Learning to recognise intrusive thoughts, label them as OCD, and disengage without giving them energy.

If you've tried CBT for OCD and didn't get the results you hoped for, this video explains why, and what a better approach looks like.

It is increasingly common for clients to come to us discussing how they have been talking to generative AI, such as Chat...
19/03/2026

It is increasingly common for clients to come to us discussing how they have been talking to generative AI, such as ChatGPT, about their problems. They may have spent months having circular conversations, only to find their anxiety is worse.

A four-year study charting obsessive compulsive symptoms in the general population since the start of the pandemic finds...
20/11/2025

A four-year study charting obsessive compulsive symptoms in the general population since the start of the pandemic finds a sharp increase that has since waned.

Trying to control our thoughts is like trying to control the ocean: we're powerless against the waves.But what if, inste...
17/11/2025

Trying to control our thoughts is like trying to control the ocean: we're powerless against the waves.

But what if, instead of trying to control the ocean, we learnt to ride the waves and kept sailing in the direction we want to go?

Once we learn to move with the waves, we can handle anything. Even the storms eventually pass.

Learning to ride the waves like this is a skill. With practice, we can respond to our thoughts with steadiness instead of struggle, and keep moving toward the things that matter to us.

Worry can feel like a good way to protect ourselves. If we worry enough, we think we’ll spot every danger. But living th...
15/11/2025

Worry can feel like a good way to protect ourselves. If we worry enough, we think we’ll spot every danger. But living this way all of the time is absolutely draining.

Instead, think of worry like a thermostat you can learn to adjust. Sometimes we need to worry about important things. But most of the time, we can run it on low and keep our mental energy bills down.

Try turning "this is a disaster" into "I'm having the thought that this is a disaster". Notice that it is just a thought...
13/11/2025

Try turning "this is a disaster" into "I'm having the thought that this is a disaster". Notice that it is just a thought.

One of the key ideas we teach is that our thoughts aren’t reality. They are mental events, and with practice, we can choose not to get hooked by them. Adding the prefix "I'm having the thought that..." is just one of the defusion techniques you can use.

Social anxiety can feel like fear, but underneath it often lies low self-esteem. When we feel inferior, we often assume ...
10/11/2025

Social anxiety can feel like fear, but underneath it often lies low self-esteem. When we feel inferior, we often assume others see us that way, too. But we can’t actually know what they’re thinking. This is what psychologists call a thinking trap.

By developing our self-acceptance and our ability to use self-compassion, we can see that these imagined judgements by others are just thoughts, not truths.

Trying not to think about something often keeps it in focus. Instead, see if you can let worries come and go, without ru...
08/11/2025

Trying not to think about something often keeps it in focus. Instead, see if you can let worries come and go, without rushing to fix or solve them.

Trying to push our worries and intrusive thoughts away often leaves them unresolved. Instead, try to notice them simply ...
06/11/2025

Trying to push our worries and intrusive thoughts away often leaves them unresolved. Instead, try to notice them simply as thoughts: ones we can choose to engage with, or let pass. When we can step back from our automatic reactions, we give ourselves the chance to respond differently and break the cycle.

Address

Queen Street
Leeds
LS12TW

Opening Hours

Wednesday 8am - 9pm
Thursday 8am - 9pm
Friday 9am - 9pm
Saturday 8am - 6pm

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