OCD Therapist & ERP Therapy in TorontoTalk therapy wasn't built for OCD. ERP was.

I can't answer that from a web page, and anyone who says they can is guessing. What I can tell you is the pattern: OCD tends to latch onto the things you care about most, like your morality, your relationships and your safety. Having a thought isn't the same as intending to act. A clinician assesses risk from the whole picture, not from one symptom, and looking at the whole picture is exactly what the free consultation is for.

In my practice, people with moderate OCD usually finish the active part of ERP in about 12 to 16 weekly sessions; it can be shorter or longer. You'll get an honest estimate after your assessment, not a promise. The first 4 to 6 weeks usually feel like the hardest, because you're facing things you've been avoiding without the compulsions that used to bring relief. You won't be doing it alone: your therapist plans each step with you and adjusts the pace as you go. After those first 4 to 6 weeks, many people I work with start to notice the OCD has less pull.

Talk therapy helps you understand your feelings. ERP changes what you do when they show up. You face the thoughts and situations that trigger your OCD without doing the compulsion, and you learn that what you feared doesn't happen, or that you can carry the uncertainty without the ritual. If insight alone fixed OCD, I wouldn't need a clinic just for OCD. Many people arrive here after years of therapy that never targeted the cycle. ERP is recommended as a first-line treatment for OCD by NICE and the American Psychiatric Association (NICE, 2005; Koran et al., 2007).

Individual OCD sessions are $250 (50 min) with a senior clinician or $225 with an associate clinician, and the first 20-minute consultation is free. Limited sliding scale options are available, ask about them. Many extended health benefits plans cover psychotherapy from a Registered Psychotherapist, with limits that vary by plan, so check with your provider to confirm your coverage.

In clinical trials, most people who complete ERP improve meaningfully. Not everyone, and the exact number moves depending on the study and how improvement was defined. When ERP falls short, I look at three things first: whether what was delivered was actually ERP (exposures in session, response prevention planned, mental compulsions targeted), whether the person was ready to commit to response prevention, and whether something else, like depression, needed attention first. If it still isn't moving, the therapist should get curious about the therapy, not blame the client. That can mean medication, more frequent sessions, or a higher level of care.

Yes, online across Ontario. A review of 22 trials found no significant difference between remote and face-to-face CBT for OCD (Salazar de Pablo et al., 2023), though people with more severe symptoms may do better in person. If you're in the Toronto area, we can add in-person sessions when they help. Some people do all of their ERP online. Others come in for certain exposures and keep check-ins and response prevention planning online. We'll work out the mix with you.

Not in the first session, and not until you're ready. Many people I see have never said the thought out loud to anyone, so we go at your pace. Our therapists have worked with the full range of OCD presentations, including the thoughts people find hardest to say. Whatever you're carrying, we've heard it before, and it won't change how we work with you.