You know what it’s like when OCD runs your day. The checking, the repeating, the hours lost to rituals that never quite make you feel safe enough. You’ve probably tried to explain it to people who just don’t get it.
Here’s what changes when ERP therapy works: You stop needing to check the door five times before leaving. You can touch something without immediately washing your hands. The intrusive thoughts still show up sometimes, but they don’t control what you do next.
Your relationships improve because you’re not constantly asking for reassurance or avoiding situations that trigger your compulsions. Work becomes manageable again. You get your time back—and more importantly, you get your life back.
The Anxiety and OCD Institute brings together nationally recognized researchers, published clinicians, and advocates—many with lived experience of the conditions we treat. This isn’t just academic knowledge; it’s real understanding of what you’re going through.
Our team has shaped international OCD treatment guidelines and written foundational books for the field. But what sets us apart in Arlington is how we combine this expertise with genuine empathy. We know that behind every compulsion is a person trying to feel safe.
Arlington families have access to both virtual and in-person appointments, making specialized care convenient for busy schedules across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We maintain full transparency about treatment methods and costs, respecting your right to understand exactly what you’re investing in.
ERP therapy starts by mapping out your specific compulsions and the fears driving them. Your therapist works with you to understand when and where these behaviors happen, and what you’re really afraid might occur if you don’t perform them.
Next comes the exposure work—gradually and systematically facing those fears in a controlled way. Think of it like physical therapy for your anxiety response. You’ll start with manageable challenges and work up to more difficult situations, always at a pace you can handle.
The “response prevention” part means learning to resist the urge to perform compulsions when anxiety hits. Your therapist guides you through this process, helping you discover that the feared outcomes rarely happen—and when they do, you can handle them better than OCD tells you.
Between sessions, you’ll practice exposure exercises on your own. Research shows that completing 60-100 exposures combined with response prevention leads to substantial, lasting improvement for most people with OCD.
Ready to get started?
We offer both weekly ERP sessions and intensive four-day treatment options for faster progress. All services are available through secure telehealth or in-person appointments at our Arlington location.
Treatment includes comprehensive assessment, personalized ERP protocols, family education when appropriate, and ongoing support throughout your recovery. For Arlington residents, this means accessing specialized care without traveling to distant treatment centers.
We serve children, adolescents, and adults, with age-appropriate interventions for each group. Family involvement is emphasized for younger clients, helping parents understand how to support recovery without enabling compulsions.
Arlington’s position in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex makes this specialized treatment accessible to families throughout North Texas, from Mansfield and Grand Prairie to Plano and Richardson.
Most people start noticing meaningful changes within 8-16 weeks of consistent ERP therapy, with about 80% experiencing significant symptom reduction in this timeframe. However, your timeline depends on several factors including how long you’ve had OCD, the severity of your symptoms, and how consistently you practice exposure exercises between sessions.
The key factor is completing your homework exposures. Research indicates that people who do daily exposure practice between sessions see faster and more lasting results. Some individuals notice improvements within just a few weeks, while others with more complex presentations may need several months of treatment.
Your therapist will work with you to set realistic expectations based on your specific situation and help you track progress along the way.
Yes, ERP is considered the gold standard for OCD treatment by major mental health organizations including the American Psychiatric Association and International OCD Foundation. Clinical studies consistently show success rates of 60-80%, with many people achieving complete symptom remission.
What makes ERP uniquely effective is that it directly addresses the cycle that maintains OCD—the relationship between obsessive thoughts, anxiety, and compulsive behaviors. Unlike general talk therapy, which can sometimes inadvertently worsen OCD symptoms by providing reassurance, ERP teaches your brain that you can handle uncertainty and anxiety without performing rituals.
Brain imaging studies even show that successful ERP treatment produces measurable changes in brain activity, particularly in regions associated with fear processing and behavioral control. This biological evidence validates what clients experience: real, lasting freedom from OCD’s grip.
Both virtual and in-person ERP therapy can be highly effective, and we offer both options to Arlington residents. The choice often depends on your specific OCD symptoms and personal preferences.
Virtual sessions work well for many types of OCD, especially those involving mental compulsions, checking behaviors, or contamination fears that can be addressed in your home environment. The convenience factor also helps with consistency—you can attend sessions without worrying about traffic on I-20 or finding parking.
Some exposures may be more effective in person, particularly those requiring specific environments or situations that your therapist needs to observe directly. Many clients use a combination approach, doing regular sessions virtually with occasional in-person meetings for specific exposure work.
Your therapist will help determine the best format based on your individual needs and treatment goals.
Most major insurance plans do cover ERP therapy for OCD, as it’s considered a medically necessary treatment for a recognized mental health condition. We work with clients to understand their specific coverage and benefits.
Coverage typically includes both individual therapy sessions and family therapy components when clinically appropriate. Some plans may require a referral from your primary care physician or have specific requirements about in-network versus out-of-network providers.
We maintain transparency about all costs upfront and can provide documentation needed for insurance claims. We also accept superbills for out-of-network coverage and HSA/FSA payments. It’s worth checking your benefits, as many Arlington residents are surprised to discover their coverage includes specialized OCD treatment.
If insurance doesn’t cover the full cost, consider that effective ERP treatment often requires fewer sessions than other approaches, potentially making it more cost-effective in the long run.
Our team includes nationally recognized researchers who have shaped international OCD treatment guidelines and written foundational books in the field. But what truly sets us apart is that many of our clinicians have lived experience with OCD themselves.
This combination of clinical expertise and personal understanding creates a unique therapeutic environment. Your therapist isn’t just applying textbook knowledge—they genuinely understand the internal experience of OCD, from the exhausting mental loops to the shame that often accompanies compulsive behaviors.
Our team’s research contributions mean we stay current with the latest developments in ERP techniques and can offer cutting-edge approaches. We’ve trained other clinicians, published extensively, and maintain leadership roles in professional organizations like OCD Twin Cities and the International OCD Foundation.
This level of specialization matters because OCD is a complex condition that requires specific expertise. General therapists, while well-meaning, may inadvertently provide reassurance or use techniques that actually strengthen OCD symptoms.
ERP therapy is effective across all OCD presentations, regardless of the specific content of your obsessions or compulsions. Whether you’re dealing with contamination fears, checking behaviors, intrusive thoughts about harm, religious scrupulosity, relationship OCD, or “pure O” presentations, the core principles remain the same.
The beauty of ERP is that it targets the underlying mechanism of OCD—the cycle of obsession, anxiety, and compulsion—rather than getting caught up in the specific content. Your therapist will design exposures tailored to your particular fears and triggers, but the treatment approach works consistently across different themes.
This is important because many people with OCD worry that their specific obsessions are too unusual, disturbing, or complex for treatment. The reality is that OCD specialists have seen it all, and no thought or fear is too taboo to address in therapy.
Some presentations may require slight modifications in approach—for example, working with intrusive thoughts might involve more imaginal exposures, while contamination OCD might focus more on in-vivo exposures—but the fundamental treatment remains highly effective across all variations.
Local Resources
Useful Links
Other Services we provide in Arlington
