I recently attended the OCF Conference and learned a great deal. Just finding a therapist that knows how to do Cognitive Behavioral Therapy really isn\'t enough. You need a therapist that knows how to specifically treat OCD. It\'s treatment is very mapped out and clear. If a therapist doesn\'t talk about \"Your Feeling Number\", Hierarchy of fears,daily \"homework\" or something similar or close - move on. The OCF offers a great booklet on how to find a good therapist. Just talking - is not going to fight OCD. www.ocfoundation.org is a good place to start.

I wanted to give more details about therapy for OCD as I have had many messages from members:
As many of you know studies show OCD response rates are higher with psychotherapy (62% in some studies) than with meds alone (and the combo has the best response). Psychotherapeutic measures include a combination of the behavioral therapy known as exposure and response prevention, and cognitive therapy.

Exposure capitalizes upon the fact that anxiety usually decreases after sufficient duration of contact with a feared stimulus. Repeated multiple exposures eventually result in loss of fear of the targeted stimulus. Patients must concurrently avoid rituals or response behaviors until their anxiety disappears. The faulty estimation of danger or exaggerated sense of personal responsibility often seen in people with OCD is dealt with using cognitive therapy.
I am an Internist and not a psychotherapist so dont personally do this but have seen much success with my patients with OCD
Dr O.