The Center for OCD and Anxiety, LLC

10/14/2025

🧠 OCD Awareness Week: 7 Days of Education, Support & Hope--Day 3 – How OCD Is Diagnosed

🩺 Getting an OCD diagnosis can be the first step toward recovery. A licensed therapist or psychiatrist uses structured interviews and clinical criteria (like DSM-5) to understand your symptoms. It’s not about labels — it’s about finding the right treatment. 🌱

Visit IOCDF’s Find Help Directory to locate a specialist near you, or add yourself to our waitlist if you are a PA resident: https://pittsburghocdtreatment.com/contact/

🎓 For professionals: Check out our live and pre-recorded CEU webinars to learn more about OCD diagnosis and treatment.

Completing the form below will add you to our wait list. Once completed, be sure to hit the "Submit Request for Services" button at the bottom and wait for a "Thank You!" screen confirming that your submission has been sent. If you indicate your intention to use insurance, please be aware that compl...

10/13/2025

🧠 OCD Awareness Week: 7 Days of Education, Support & Hope: Day 2 – The Signs & Symptoms of OCD

💭 Do you ever experience unwanted, repetitive thoughts that feel impossible to control? Do you engage in behaviors designed to reduce the discomfort these thoughts produce?

OCD symptoms can include:
Intrusive fears or thoughts
Compulsive behaviors (checking, cleaning, repeating)
Mental rituals like counting or reassurance-seeking

These are signs it’s more than “just anxiety.” OCD is treatable — and you’re not alone. 💙

📖 Learn more in: Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts by Sally Winston & Martin Seif

10/12/2025

🧠 OCD Awareness Week: 7 Days of Education, Support & Hope: Day 1 – What OCD Really Is
👉 It’s time to clear the myths. OCD isn’t just about being “neat” or “organized.”
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a serious, often misunderstood mental health condition involving intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors that cause real distress.
This week, we’ll explore what OCD truly means — and how you can find help and hope. 💙 Learn more at IOCDF.org
📚 Recommended Read: Freedom from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Jonathan Grayson, PhD

10/10/2025

Progress in ERP doesn’t mean going from 100 to 0 overnight. Sometimes, healing means doing the ritual less — not never.

💡 Examples:
If you wash your hands five times, try washing three.
If you check the lock ten times, check it five times.

By limiting your ritual, you teach your brain: “I can handle uncertainty — I don’t need to overdo it.”

This is ERP in action. Small steps. Big wins. 🌿

Drop a 💚 in the comments if you’re working on limiting your rituals this week!

10/08/2025

📝 ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) isn’t about “never feeling anxious.” It’s about learning to sit with anxiety without giving in to the ritual.

✨ Try this small step: When you feel the urge to perform a compulsion, delay it by just 2 seconds or 5 minutes--whatever you can tolerate. Notice what happens — your anxiety might spike, but then… it slowly fades. That’s your brain learning that you don’t need the ritual to be safe. 💚

Every delay is a tiny act of courage. Every pause rewires your brain.

Save this for your next practice session — and celebrate every second you wait. 🕊️

10/07/2025

🧠 OCD & ERP Essentials: Master the Gold-Standard Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Are you ready to take your clinical skills to the next level?
OCD & ERP Essentials is a comprehensive training designed for mental health professionals who want to confidently diagnose OCD and deliver evidence-based Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) treatment — the gold-standard approach for OCD recovery.

🎯 What You’ll Learn

✔ Accurate OCD Diagnosis — Learn how to recognize core symptoms, subtypes, and differential diagnoses.
✔ Master ERP Techniques — Step-by-step guidance on how to design and implement effective ERP hierarchies.
✔ Case Conceptualization — Build individualized treatment plans based on cognitive-behavioral frameworks.
✔ Client Engagement Skills — Overcome avoidance, resistance, and treatment fatigue.
✔ Ethical and Cultural Competence — Deliver ERP safely and inclusively across diverse populations.

👩‍🏫 Who This Training Is For

Therapists, counselors, psychologists, and social workers

Clinical trainees and graduate students

Professionals seeking OCD & ERP CE credits

🌟 Why Choose OCD & ERP Essentials

✅ Developed by clinicians who specialize in OCD and anxiety disorders
✅ Evidence-based, practical, and ready to use in real sessions
✅Small group instruction means your questions will be answered

🔑 Unlock Your Confidence in Treating OCD

By the end of this course, you’ll have the tools, knowledge, and confidence to identify OCD accurately and guide clients through transformative ERP treatment — from assessment to recovery.

👉 Enroll today in OCD & ERP Essentials and become the therapist your OCD clients need: https://pittsburghocdtreatment.com/training-and-consultation/live-virtual-trainings/

10/06/2025

🧠💚 Join Us for the OCD Walk 2025! 💚🧠

We’re proud to support the International OCD Foundation’s annual — a day dedicated to raising awareness, breaking stigma, and showing that no one is alone in their OCD journey.

✨ Join COA’s Team: COA Walks for OCD!
Whether you walk, donate, or spread the word, your participation helps fund crucial research, education, and advocacy for people living with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

📅 Date: Saturday, 10/18
📍 Location: Gilfillan Park in USC
👟 How to Join: Use the QR code to sign up or donate!

Let’s walk together for hope, understanding, and community. 💙

10/04/2025

🧠 OCD and the Endless Search for Certainty

Have you ever noticed how your mind tells a story…and then refuses to believe the ending you give it?

That’s OCD’s trap. It doesn’t just create intrusive thoughts — it demands a perfect answer.
So you solve the story:
👉 “What if I offended them?” → “No, I didn’t.”
But then OCD whispers: “Are you sure?”

The cycle continues. OCD isn’t satisfied with solutions — it wants certainty. And certainty doesn’t exist.

The real freedom comes not from finding the right answer, but from learning to let the story stay unfinished. That’s where peace begins. 💬

✨ Key Takeaway: OCD doesn’t want clarity — it wants control.

10/02/2025

✨ "Walk Away" ≠ Avoidance ✨

When working through , a walk away moment isn’t about running from fear—it’s about taking back control. 💪

👉 A “walk away” exposure means you’re consciously choosing to limit your access to a ritual.
That could look like:
🚶 Changing your route so you’re not pulled into a hand-wash ritual.
🧠 Choosing to shift your thoughts instead of spiraling into mental compulsions.

This isn’t avoidance—it’s an active, brave choice to step toward freedom from rituals. Every walk away is a practice in breaking the cycle. 🌱

Remember: Recovery isn’t about forcing yourself into fear at every turn—it’s about practicing flexibility, resilience, and reclaiming your time + energy.

09/30/2025

🚀 Spotlight 🚀
Ready to strengthen your clinical practice with confidence?

📅 Join our LIVE "ERP Essentials" Training
🗓 Date: 11/7
⏰ Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST

✅ Why attend live?

Small group format → your questions answered in real time

Clear guidance on diagnosis & treatment paths

Interactive + practical insights you can use immediately

💡 Prefer to learn on your own schedule?
📲 We also offer pre-recorded trainings so you can master ERP anytime, anywhere.

Don’t miss your chance to sharpen your skills and support clients more effectively!

🔗 Register today at https://pittsburghocdtreatment.com/training-and-consultation/live-virtual-trainings/
*Trainers are posted to pinned spreadsheet where appropriate.**

09/28/2025

✨ Start Your Week with Intention ✨

Still thinking about how to get from surviving to thriving over here. When you live with OCD, it can feel like a battle between what you want and what your rituals demand.
That’s why setting an intentional approach to the day (or the week or the month or the year!) matters so much. 💡

Instead of trying to “stop every ritual at once to live your best life now,” ask yourself:
👉 Which rituals do I feel ready to challenge today?
👉 Which ones might be too overwhelming right now?

It’s not avoidance—it’s strategy. 💪
OCD recovery is about choosing your battles wisely, building resilience, and celebrating progress (no matter how small). You don't have to challenge everything today or you may not meet those goals you have for yourself for a week, a month or even a year.

🌱 Maybe today you target the ritual of triple-checking the outlets.
🌱 Maybe today you let the more intense ritual of triple checking the lock before you leave wait until you’ve practiced more.

Both choices are valid. Both are forward steps.

💬 Comment below: What’s ONE ritual you want to gently challenge this week? One that will help take you from surviving with OCD to thriving with OCD?

09/26/2025

This morning at our all-staff meeting, COA staff explored the idea of what it means to thrive, both as people and professionals. 🧠✨ It got us thinking: sometimes, clients need to figure out what they’re really aiming for after OCD.

How do you stay motivated to do the work? And how do you know when you’ve truly accomplished it? 🎯

At COA, we believe exploring these questions is just as important as the steps to get there. It’s all about helping clients define success on their own terms—and celebrating those wins along the way. 💪💛