OCD Therapy (ERP) · Seattle · Statewide WA Telehealth
OCD care built around ERP, not open-ended talk therapy.
Same-week appointment availability. Most major insurance plans accepted. In person at three Seattle-area offices or by secure video anywhere in Washington.
OCD therapy at Counseling Services for Wellbeing centers on ERP, exposure and response prevention, the approach research treats as the gold standard for obsessive-compulsive disorder. We work with intrusive thoughts, rituals and the subtypes that rarely fit a textbook, and we match you with an ERP-trained clinician. We accept most major insurance plans, book same-week appointments and meet at our Green Lake, Burien and Smokey Point offices or by secure video statewide.
You already know the thought is not true. That is not the part that stops.
A thought lands that you would never act on and would never want, and instead of passing through it sticks. So you check. You wash. You reread the message. You run the mental review one more time to be sure. The relief lasts a few minutes, and then the doubt is back and the loop starts over.
Maybe it is contamination, or a fear of harming someone, or the question of whether you really love your partner, or a thought that feels wrong in a moral or religious way, or the need for something to be just right before you can move on. You have probably been told to just stop thinking about it, or someone has reassured you, and for a moment that helped and then it did not. Plain talk therapy can even make it worse, because asking for reassurance becomes one more compulsion.
OCD is not a willpower problem and it is not solved by trying harder to be sure. The work is learning to let the thought be there without doing the ritual, and that is exactly what ERP is built to do.
OCD therapy for adults whose obsessions and compulsions run the day.
Contamination and washing
Hours lost to washing, cleaning or avoiding what feels contaminated. Hands raw, routines that keep growing.
Harm and intrusive thoughts
Violent or unwanted thoughts you would never act on, followed by checking and reassurance to prove you are safe.
Relationship OCD
Endless doubt about whether you love your partner enough or chose right. Comparing, testing feelings, seeking proof.
Scrupulosity and moral OCD
Fear of being a bad person, sinning or breaking a rule. Confessing, praying to be sure, mentally reviewing for hours.
Just-right and symmetry
Redoing things until they feel right. Counting, evening things out, repeating until the wrongness eases.
Pure-O and mental compulsions
No outward ritual, but constant mental reviewing, neutralizing and figuring it out. The compulsion is in your head.
First-time-therapy adults are welcome. You do not need to have it figured out or be sure it is OCD before you reach out.
How OCD therapy works here.
We lead with ERP and shape it to your specific obsessions and compulsions, so you build real tolerance for the thoughts instead of chasing certainty you can never quite reach.
Reach out
A short form or a call. We hear what is going on, which obsessions you get and which compulsions follow, and what you have already tried. No long assessment battery to clear before we talk.
Map the loop together
We pair you with an ERP-trained clinician and map your triggers, your obsessions and the rituals that follow, including the mental ones. From there you build an exposure plan, paced to start where you can.
Practice and build tolerance
You face triggers on purpose and ride out the discomfort without doing the ritual, in session and then on your own. Same therapist each time, in person at one of three Seattle-area offices or by secure video anywhere in Washington.
Why ERP, not open-ended talk.
ERP, exposure and response prevention, is what the American Psychological Association describes as the most effective approach for obsessive-compulsive disorder. It works by helping you face the trigger and resist the compulsion, so the loop loses its grip over time. Cognitive behavioral therapy sits underneath it, and we draw on it for the thinking patterns that keep OCD going.
ERP for the core of OCD. CBT for the beliefs that fuel it. Inference-based work for the doubt itself. Trauma-informed care with EMDR when there is trauma underneath. We shape the approach to your subtype, whether it is contamination, harm, relationship OCD or a theme that does not fit a textbook.
How we compare
Counseling Services for Wellbeing vs. typical Seattle OCD options.
| Generalist Seattle therapists | Online therapy platforms | Counseling Services for Wellbeing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First appointment |
Often waitlisted for OCD
|
Usually within days
|
Same-week, matched to you
|
| ERP-trained for OCD |
Often talk therapy, not ERP
|
Rarely ERP-specialized
|
ERP-trained clinicians
|
| Speed and after-hours flexibility |
Limited evening slots
|
Evening and weekend video
|
Not the widest after-hours menu
|
| In-person and video options |
In person, one location
|
Video only
|
Three offices plus video
|
| Works across OCD subtypes |
May miss Pure-O and mental rituals
|
Scripted, one-size content
|
Contamination, harm, ROCD, Pure-O
|
| Insurance accepted |
OCD specialists often cash-pay
|
Limited plans accepted
|
Kaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna
|
-
First appointment
-
Generalist Seattle therapistsOften waitlisted for OCD
-
Online therapy platformsUsually within days
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingSame-week, matched to you
-
-
ERP-trained for OCD
-
Generalist Seattle therapistsOften talk therapy, not ERP
-
Online therapy platformsRarely ERP-specialized
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingERP-trained clinicians
-
-
Speed and after-hours flexibility
-
Generalist Seattle therapistsLimited evening slots
-
Online therapy platformsEvening and weekend video
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingNot the widest after-hours menu
-
-
In-person and video options
-
Generalist Seattle therapistsIn person, one location
-
Online therapy platformsVideo only
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingThree offices plus video
-
-
Works across OCD subtypes
-
Generalist Seattle therapistsMay miss Pure-O and mental rituals
-
Online therapy platformsScripted, one-size content
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingContamination, harm, ROCD, Pure-O
-
-
Insurance accepted
-
Generalist Seattle therapistsOCD specialists often cash-pay
-
Online therapy platformsLimited plans accepted
-
Counseling Services for WellbeingKaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna
-
We are not the fastest after-hours option and we are not the cheapest in the city. We are the practice that treats OCD with ERP, takes your insurance, gets you in quickly and matches you with a clinician trained for the way your OCD actually shows up.
Most major insurance plans accepted
We recommend confirming your benefits with your insurer before your first session, so getting specialized OCD care does not have to wait until you can afford cash-pay rates.
Meet some of our OCD-focused clinicians.
A smaller, vetted bench for OCD specifically. We match you with a clinician trained in ERP for the way your OCD actually shows up.
There is a deeper team behind these clinicians. Tell us how OCD shows up for you and we will match you with the right therapist.
Three offices or secure video anywhere in Washington.
ERP translates well to video, and exposures that happen at home often fit better there, so you can do this work in the place where OCD actually shows up.
What adults ask before starting OCD therapy.
Do you take my insurance for OCD therapy?
We accept Kaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna. Coverage can work differently by plan, so we recommend confirming your specific benefits with your insurer before your first session. You will not be left guessing about cost, which matters when so many OCD specialists are cash-pay only.
Do you do ERP for OCD?
Yes. ERP, exposure and response prevention, is the core of how we treat OCD, because it is the approach research treats as the gold standard. We have clinicians trained in ERP rather than general talk therapists who occasionally see OCD, and we draw on CBT for the beliefs that keep the loop going.
Is ordinary talk therapy enough for OCD?
For OCD specifically, open-ended talk therapy and reassurance often make things worse, because reassurance can become another compulsion. ERP is structured differently. It is designed to help you face the trigger and ride out the discomfort without doing the ritual, so the obsession gradually loses its grip.
What kinds of OCD do you work with?
Contamination, harm, relationship OCD, scrupulosity and just-right or symmetry themes, along with Pure-O and mental compulsions where the rituals happen entirely in your head. ERP adapts to the theme, so the subtype does not have to fit a textbook for us to work with it.
How soon can I be seen for OCD?
First appointments are available the same week, not weeks out. Much of the Seattle OCD market is small, waitlisted or cash-pay only, so you do not have to sit with the loop while you wait for an opening. Reach out and we will find the first opening that fits.
Do you offer OCD therapy online or only in person?
Both. You can meet in person at our Green Lake, Burien or Smokey Point offices, or by secure video anywhere in Washington with online therapy. The same therapist either way. ERP translates well to video, and home-based exposures often fit better there.
What happens in the first appointment?
The first session is about understanding how OCD shows up for you, which obsessions you get and which compulsions follow, and building a plan together. We do not throw you into the hardest exposure on day one. The work is paced so you can actually do it, with the same therapist each session.
You do not have to keep doing the ritual one more time just to feel okay for a minute.
OCD therapy can give you room to let a thought be there without acting on it, and you can start this week. Counseling Services for Wellbeing leads with ERP, accepts most major insurance plans, books first appointments the same week, and matches you with a clinician trained for your OCD, in person at our Green Lake, Burien and Smokey Point offices or by secure video across Washington.
