OCD therapy in Calgary.
Therapy that targets the cycle of intrusive thoughts and the rituals that try to manage them — not generic talk therapy that hopes the OCD will quiet down on its own.
The subtypes we work with.
Contamination & cleaning — fears of germs, illness, or impurity; hand-washing, sanitizing, avoidance of public spaces.
Checking — locks, stoves, appliances; worries about harm caused or missed; mentally retracing.
Harm intrusions — ego-dystonic thoughts about hurting yourself or others. Distressing precisely because they conflict with your values.
Sexual or relationship intrusions — including ROCD (relationship OCD) and SOCD (sexual-orientation OCD).
Symmetry & “just-right” — compulsions to arrange, repeat, or complete actions until a sensation of correctness is reached.
Religious & moral scrupulosity — obsessive fear of having sinned, blasphemed, or failed a moral standard.
Pure-O — obsessions and mental rituals without visible compulsions. Often missed because the rituals are internal.
CBT, exposure, ACT, mindfulness.
CBT-based work — identifying the thought-compulsion cycle, mapping triggers, and gradually changing how you respond to intrusive thoughts. The NICE OCD guideline (NICE, 2005) lists CBT including exposure-and-response prevention as a first-line treatment.
Graduated exposure — structured, planned encounters with feared situations or thoughts, without performing the ritual. Done collaboratively, at a pace you can sustain.
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) — building a different relationship with intrusive thoughts so they have less control over your behaviour. Particularly useful for Pure-O presentations.
Mindfulness components — for de-fusing from the thought itself rather than fighting its content.
Our therapist who works with OCD uses a CBT framework with graduated exposure work, ACT, and mindfulness. We are not an ERP-specialty clinic — if the consult suggests you’d be better served by an ERP-certified provider, we’ll say so and offer pointers.
Therapists on the team who do ocd work.
Browse and click into a bio. The free consult is a call to talk through fit, fees, and insurance.
OCD therapy, asked and answered.
How long does OCD therapy usually take?
It varies. Focused CBT/exposure protocols can produce meaningful change over a few months of weekly sessions. Longstanding or complex OCD often takes longer and may benefit from periodic top-ups. Your therapist will be open about pacing as you go.
What’s the difference between exposure work and just “facing my fears”?
Structure. Exposure work is planned with you, sequenced from easier to harder, and paired with a specific rule about not performing the ritual. The point isn’t to white-knuckle through fear — it’s to discover, through repeated experience, that the feared outcome doesn’t require the ritual to manage it.
Do I need medication for OCD?
Many people are helped by therapy alone. For more severe OCD, evidence supports combining therapy with SSRI medication; that’s a conversation for your family doctor or psychiatrist, and we can work alongside whatever they recommend.
What if I have intrusive thoughts that scare me?
Intrusive thoughts that conflict with your values (harm, sexual, blasphemous) are common in OCD precisely because OCD targets what you care about most. They are not predictions of action. A therapist familiar with OCD will recognize them for what they are and not over-react.
Are sessions covered by insurance?
Most extended health plans cover Registered Psychologists and Registered Provisional Psychologists. Direct billing is available with Blue Cross.
In-person or online?
Both. Sessions at our Calgary office (2640 30 St SW) or by encrypted video for clients across Alberta.
References
NICE. (2005, updated). Obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder: treatment (CG31). National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. nice.org.uk/guidance/cg31
Skapinakis, P., Caldwell, D. M., Hollingworth, W., Bryden, P., Fineberg, N. A., Salkovskis, P., Welton, N. J., Baxter, H., Kessler, D., Churchill, R., & Lewis, G. (2016). Pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions for management of obsessive-compulsive disorder in adults: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(8), 730–739. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30069-4
Twenty minutes. On the phone. Free.
Tell us what’s going on and ask anything — insurance, format, fees, what a first session looks like. You’ll be on the call with one of our therapists, and we’ll go from there together. If we’re not the right practice for you, we’ll say so.