Empirically Validated Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Negar Kkhaefi, MFT | Los Angeles Therapist

Anxiety and Trauma Specialist | EMDR Practitioner | Clinical Supervisor

6535 Wilshire Blvd. Suite # 261 | Los Angeles | CA | 90048 | MAP VIEW

Ph: 323-638-4152 | negarkhaefi@gmail.com

Why Should You Get Treated for OCD?

It is hard to realize how much OCD affects you and debilitates you until your symptoms are lifted. You learn to just live with the pain because it becomes part of you, and a familiar feeling. You might even believe that it is not affecting you that much, but in reality your quality of life is greatly diminished. Treatment provides freedom from the bondage of repetitive and time consuming behaviors, the pain of chronic anxiety, and frees up precious time you could be spending with your loved ones, or achieving your life goals.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

  • Intense daily fear of a specific things. Common fears include germs, bugs, Going crazy, Infidelity, Losing Control, Bad things happening to loved ones , Making a mistake (eg. typo in an essay) , Being negligent (eg. not locking the door), , Doing bad things to other people, Death , Abandonment , Failure, Embarrassment, Getting fat , Looking old, Getting sick , God and hell
  • Repetitive and intrusive thoughts that frighten you and seem to come from “nowhere”. Such thoughts are often about hurting yourself or others.
  • Rituals that must be performed on a daily basis that seem excessive or illogical and EXTREME anxiety if not able to be performed.
  • Repetitive checking of things and places (such as stoves, under the bed, in the closet, lights, checking for bugs, looking in the mirror) to make sure of one’s safety
  • Irresistible urge to perform actions such as cleaning, making things straight/parallel, counting and EXTREME anxiety if such actions are not performed.
  • Irresistible urge to tap or touch, and EXTREME anxiety if unable to.
  • Magical thinking or recurring fears that your actions have illogical consequences.

Is treatment effective?

Yes, it is effective, but you have to be careful to get the correct type of treatment. For OCD it is widely accepted that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or Exposure and Response Prevention are the most effective treatments. Other types of therapy are not effective for OCD.  Often times people spend years in treatment and never get better because of this.  Qualified therapists have typically been trained by the Behavioral Therapy Training Institute specifically in the treatment of OCD.

In certain cases of OCD where there is a trauma history related to symptoms, trauma work is warranted and an empirically validated trauma treatment such as EMDR is very useful.

Please visit my FAQ section for more information about my location, fees, insurance policies, and my qualifications. I hope that you take the leap, and reach out for help. OCD, like many anxiety disorders, is highly treatable. Call me for a complimentary phone consultation or send me an email about yourself. We can begin to face it together.

6535 Wilshire Blvd. Suite # 261 | Los Angeles | CA | 90048 | MAP VIEW

Ph: 323-638-4152 | negarkhaefi@gmail.com