You know the cycle. Intrusive thoughts hit, anxiety spikes, and you’re trapped doing compulsions that steal hours from your day. The thoughts you can’t control become behaviors you feel you must complete, even when you know others might find them unusual.
What if those thoughts didn’t have to control your decisions anymore? With the right treatment approach, you can learn to experience intrusive thoughts without being driven to respond with compulsions. You can get back to living instead of just surviving.
Our specialized OCD treatment in Longview, TX helps you build the skills to face uncertainty, tolerate distress, and choose your actions based on your values—not your fears.
The Anxiety and OCD Institute brings together nationally recognized researchers, published clinicians, and advocates—many with lived experience of the very conditions we treat. This isn’t just clinical training talking; it’s real understanding of what you’re going through.
Our team includes leaders who have shaped international OCD treatment guidelines and written foundational books for the field. We combine clinical authority with deep empathy, creating a space where no thought is too taboo and where you can confidently share even the most difficult experiences.
Serving the Longview, TX community through both secure telehealth and in-person appointments, we meet you where you are—emotionally, culturally, and geographically.
Your treatment starts with a comprehensive assessment to understand your specific OCD patterns and triggers. No two people experience OCD the same way, so your treatment plan gets tailored to your unique symptoms and goals.
The core approach uses Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)—the gold-standard treatment backed by decades of research. You’ll gradually face situations that trigger your obsessions while learning to resist the urge to engage in compulsions. This happens at your pace, with full transparency about what you’re doing and why.
Between sessions, you’ll practice exposure exercises that help you build tolerance for uncertainty and discomfort. Research shows that completing 60 to 100 exposures combined with response prevention leads to substantial, lasting improvement for most people with OCD.
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Whether you’re dealing with harm OCD, contamination fears, symmetry and orderliness compulsions, or postpartum OCD, our treatment approach adapts to your specific themes. Longview residents often struggle with intrusive thoughts about harming loved ones, fears of contamination from local environments, or the need to have everything “just right” before leaving home.
We specialize in Inference-based CBT (I-CBT) for OCD, which helps you develop alternative narratives that align with reality rather than OCD’s distorted thinking. We also integrate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for obsessive thoughts, helping you build psychological flexibility while staying committed to your values.
For new parents in the Longview area, our specialized postpartum OCD help addresses the unique challenges that arise during this vulnerable time. Treatment recognizes that becoming a parent can trigger or worsen OCD symptoms, and provides targeted support for intrusive thoughts about infant safety.
If intrusive thoughts are consuming hours of your day or preventing you from living the life you want, it’s time for professional help. Many people in Longview try to manage OCD on their own, but research shows this rarely leads to lasting improvement.
Professional treatment becomes necessary when you find yourself avoiding people, places, or situations that most others don’t avoid. Or when you’re constantly seeking reassurance from others, trying to be 100% certain about things, or spending excessive time on checking behaviors. If these patterns are interfering with work, relationships, or daily functioning, specialized OCD treatment can help you regain control.
Traditional talk therapy focuses on gaining insight into your problems, but research shows it’s not effective for treating OCD. ERP therapy takes a completely different approach by having you gradually face the situations, thoughts, or fears that trigger your obsessions.
Instead of trying to understand why you have these thoughts, ERP helps you learn that you can experience them without being compelled to respond with rituals or avoidance. You practice staying in contact with uncertainty and discomfort until your anxiety naturally decreases. This process, called habituation, retrains your brain’s response to triggers and provides lasting relief that insight-based therapy simply can’t match.
Most people start noticing meaningful changes within the first few weeks of consistent ERP practice, but complete treatment typically takes several months. The timeline depends heavily on how willing you are to complete exposure exercises between sessions.
Research indicates that substantial, durable improvement occurs after completing 60 to 100 exposures combined with response prevention. Some clients show significant progress in 8-12 sessions, while others need longer depending on the severity of symptoms and their engagement with the process. The key factor isn’t time—it’s consistent practice with exposures and response prevention techniques.
Yes, ERP therapy is effective for all OCD subtypes, including harm OCD, contamination fears, symmetry and orderliness compulsions, and postpartum OCD. While the specific exposures vary based on your particular triggers, the underlying treatment approach remains the same.
For harm OCD, exposures might involve being around knives without avoiding them or writing out feared scenarios. For symmetry OCD, you might practice leaving items slightly askew or wearing mismatched clothing. The treatment gets personalized to your specific fears and compulsions, but the goal is always the same: learning to experience triggers without responding compulsively.
Yes, we offer treatment through both secure telehealth sessions and in-person appointments to serve the Longview, TX community. Virtual sessions are just as effective as in-person treatment for most people with OCD, and they offer the convenience of receiving specialized care from home.
The choice between virtual and in-person treatment often depends on your specific needs and preferences. Some exposures work well through telehealth, while others might benefit from in-person guidance. During your initial consultation, you can discuss which format would work best for your particular situation and treatment goals.
Your first appointment focuses on understanding your specific OCD experiences through a comprehensive assessment. You’ll discuss your intrusive thoughts, compulsive behaviors, and how they’re currently impacting your daily life in Longview.
This isn’t about judgment—it’s about getting a clear picture of your symptoms so treatment can be tailored to your needs. You’ll learn about how ERP works, what to expect from the process, and have the opportunity to ask questions about treatment. The goal is for you to feel informed and comfortable before beginning any exposure work. Many people find this initial consultation reassuring because they finally feel understood by someone who truly gets what they’re experiencing.
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