Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

OCD Treatment in Towson, Maryland

The Maryland Anxiety Center in Towson, Maryland, specializes in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and related disorders from a cognitive behavioral perspective. Learn about obsessions and compulsions, our treatment approach, and what to expect when getting started.

What Are Obsessions and Compulsions?

Obsessions are recurring, unwanted thoughts, urges, or images that cause anxiety or distress. People may respond by trying to suppress them or by performing rituals, known as compulsions, to reduce distress or prevent something they fear.

Intrusive Thoughts, Guilt and Shame

Unwanted thoughts can cause embarrassment, guilt, or shame, particularly when someone interprets a thought as revealing something about their character or as being equivalent to acting on it.

Intrusive thoughts also occur in people without OCD. The distress they cause and how someone responds to them are important. Efforts to suppress unwanted thoughts or repeatedly neutralize the associated distress can keep the cycle going.

Read more about understanding intrusive thoughts.

Recognizing Behavioral and Mental Compulsions

Compulsions can include visible actions and less noticeable mental activities.

Compulsions may include:

• Washing, checking, or ordering.
• Silently repeating words or phrases.
• Counting or analyzing.

These actions are intended to prevent a feared outcome or relieve distress and may have no realistic connection to the feared event. Obsessions and compulsions can take up substantial time and interfere with relationships, school, and other responsibilities.

Our Approach to OCD Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the standard treatment approach at The Maryland Anxiety Center. CBT explores connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and helps people work on problematic thinking patterns and behaviors.

Your therapist will explain your diagnosis and treatment options and work with you to tailor treatment to your needs.

Learn more about cognitive behavioral therapy.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

Exposure and response prevention is a behavioral component of CBT used in treating OCD. It involves gradually approaching distressing thoughts, feelings, or feared situations while learning to respond differently to the distress.

You and your therapist work together to create an exposure hierarchy, or a list of experiences to approach gradually during treatment.

Learn how exposure and response prevention works.

What to Expect When Starting Therapy

When you contact The Maryland Anxiety Center, you will have a brief phone screening. If the practice’s services are an appropriate match, you will be scheduled for an initial evaluation with the Center’s director.

The first appointment includes a psychosocial and diagnostic evaluation and an opportunity to ask questions. Following assessment and discussion of your diagnosis and treatment options, you and your therapist will work together on treatment planning.

Meet Our OCD Clinicians

Andrea G. Batton, LCPC, is the Center’s clinical director and a graduate of the International OCD Foundation’s Behavior Therapy Institute. Her background includes specialized cognitive behavioral training in OCD and related disorders, along with advanced training at the Behavior Therapy Center of Greater Washington.

Learn about Andrea’s background and training

FAQs About OCD

Does having intrusive thoughts mean I have OCD?
No. Intrusive thoughts can occur in people with or without OCD. Their presence alone does not establish a disorder; how someone responds to the thoughts and the distress they cause are important.

Are compulsions always visible?
No. Compulsions can include mental activities such as silently repeating phrases, counting, or analyzing, as well as visible behaviors such as washing or checking.

Will my treatment be tailored to me?
Yes. Your therapist will discuss your diagnosis and treatment options with you and work collaboratively to develop a plan suited to your individual needs.