IFS Therapy for OCD

I have helped many clients deal with OCD conditions. My main method of reference for the treatment for OCD is IFS (Internal Family Systems) Therapy.

In November 2021, I co-presented a workshop on OCD and IFS with my dear colleague Robert Fox. Now I offer private clinical consultation for IFS therapists and practitioners who would like to know more about how to adapt IFS to OCD.

In this page, you can find links to all the articles I wrote about OCD from an IFS perspective, or you can click on this link to navigate to a podcast on IFS & OCD.

OCD is one of the most painful mental health conditions of our time. I talk extensively about OCD in my articles (you can find them at the end of this page), and here I want to write a personal message of hope because I have seen OCD symptoms recede and improve.

Working with OCD means working with a set of rigid ways of thinking and approaching life that can, at times, restrict and reduce the ability to function normally. OCD can be extremely severe and its intensity varies depending on stress levels, distressing personal events like big changes in accommodation, work, family, etc., food intake, sleet and health conditions.

For many clients it is difficult to realise how much of their life is being taken by OCD thoughts and behaviours. Asking for help can be very tough especially when there is a lot of shame around the nature of the OCD. For this reason, it is only when there is a strong and trusting relationship between therapist and client that the content of the OCD might be possible to reveal.