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OCD therapy

 

Structured treatment programs to help you break free from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Most people experience intrusive thoughts or compulsions at some point in their lives. Some people also demonstrate personality and behavioural quirks around liking things to be done perfectly or in a certain way. However this does not mean that we all have OCD.

OCD has become a colloquial term for any repetitive behaviour, but for those who suffer from clinically diagnosed OCD it can be a highly stressful and debilitating disorder.

Click here to read more about our Group Therapy Program. 

So what is OCD?

OCD is a form of anxiety that develops when a person repeatedly experiences intrusive, distressing and unwanted thoughts, images or urges (obsessions). These obsessions are distressing and leave people feeling they cannot control or stop the thoughts from occurring. 

While people with OCD often realise that their obsessional thoughts are irrational, they believe the only way to relieve their anxiety is to perform compulsive behaviours and rituals to prevent the outcomes that they fear. They attribute any relief from their anxiety to these compulsive behaviours – but the relief is short-lived, leaving OCD sufferers trapped in a cycle of needing to complete rituals to reduce their ongoing distress.

The more the rituals are performed, the more people feel the urge to perform them again next time they feel anxious or have distressing thoughts. As the frequency of the anxiety builds, rituals become extremely time consuming, and can get in the way of activities like school, hobbies, work, friendships and family activities.

Individuals with OCD will frequently avoid the situations that trigger their intrusive thoughts and rituals. 

OCD symptoms

Some of the more common obsessions experienced by adults with OCD include:
  • Contamination fears like bodily fluids, germs, environmental contaminations, chemicals and dirt
  • Fear of losing control and acting on impulses to harm oneself or others
  • Fear of violent of horrific images
  • Fear of being responsible for something terrible happening
  • Fear of harming someone by not being careful enough
  • Unwanted sexual thoughts or images
  • Religious obsessions such as fear of offending God, or excessive concern with right and wrong
  • Superstitious beliefs.
Some of the more common rituals and compulsions of adults with OCD include:
  • Repetitive hand washing and cleaning in a certain way
  • Repeatedly touching objects, a certain number of times or in a certain pattern
  • Checking to see that appliances are off or doors are locked
  • Checking that others were not harmed
  • Mental compulsions (repeating a word, praying or replacing “bad” thoughts with “good” ones)
  • Ordering or arranging objects in a particular way
  • Counting to a particular number or repeating actions a certain number of times or to finish tasks on a “good” or “safe” number
  • Rereading or rewriting
  • Repeatedly seeking reassurance or confessing the content of their thoughts to others.

What therapies do we offer?

We offer individual and group cognitive behaviour therapy that includes exposure and response prevention (ERP). This form of therapy is considered the “gold standard” treatment for OCD.  Exposure and Response Prevention involves gradually – and very carefully – facing the things that you avoid and that cause you distress, without completing your typical compulsions to reduce your anxiety. Doing this helps you to see that what you fear won’t actually happen, and that you are able to cope with any anxiety that you do experience. Typically any initial increase in anxiety caused by facing your fears quickly reduces.

We offer treatment programs designed for children, adolescents and adults. 

Read more about OCD by visiting our blog

Click here to read more about our Group Therapy Program. 

Who can assist me?

Ellen Maclaine

BA (Hons), MPsych (Clinical)                             Clinical Psychologist

Dr Joel Howell

BSc (Hons), PhD (Clinical Psychology)                  Clinical Psychologist

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Dr Caitlin Pearcy

BPsych, PhD (Clinical Psychology)                    Senior Clinical Psychologist

Sonja Williams

BA (Hons), MPsych (Clinical)                             Senior Clinical Psychologist

Rebecca Jamieson

BA (Hons), MPsych (Clinical)                             Senior Clinical Psychologist

Dr Rachael Sim

BA, MA (Hons), DClinPsych                               Senior Clinical Psychologist

Clare Kwan

MA (Clinc Psych), BA (Hons) Psych                  Senior Clinical Psychologist

Sarah Hollingworth

BA (Hons), MPsych (Clinical)                             Senior Clinical Psychologist

Dr Kim Eaton

BA (Hons), MPsych (Clinical), PhD                   Senior Clinical Psychologist 

Emma Burton

BSc (Hons), MPsych (Clinical)                         Clinical Psychologist

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Jane Flanagan

BA, BPsychSci, MPsych (Clinical)                       Clinical Psychologist

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Dr Kristen Seaman

BA (Hons), PhD (Clinical)                                    Clinical Psychology Registrar

Browse Our Team for information on all our practitioners:
Browse Our Team
Ready to book an appointment?

Contact

Ph: (08) 6143 4499
Fax: (08) 9200 5696

Monday to Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 4pm
Saturday 9am - 2:30pm

Locations

34 Coghlan Road,
Subiaco, Perth, 6008, WA

36 St Quentin Ave, Claremont, Perth, 6010, WA

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Dr Clair Lawson

 

Dr Clair Lawson leads a highly professional, growing and diverse clinical psychology practice. Adopting a range of evidence-based approaches, Clair draws on 18 years of experience in child and adolescent mental health to inform her therapy for clients of all ages – with particular expertise in the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

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Dr Jemma Todd

 

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Sarah Hollingworth Clinical Psychologist

Sarah Hollingworth

 

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Ellen Maclaine

Ellen Maclaine

 

Ellen has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults with a range of mental health difficulties. She also has experience working with families experiencing parenting difficulties and is passionate about promoting the development of children’s emotional wellbeing skills. Ellen adopts a variety of evidence-based treatment approaches including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, and Mindfulness-based interventions

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Dr Emily Castell

 

Emily has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults for the management of symptoms relating to Social Anxiety, Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, worry and rumination, Bipolar Disorder, interpersonal difficulties, and the development of social and coping skills. Emily’s aim is to deliver evidence-based psychological services that support individuals to work toward their goals. As such, Emily’s position is therapy is collaborative and seeks to develop a strong working relationship with clients. Emily believes that therapy should be inclusive, and she is passionate about making information accessible to individuals with diverse abilities and needs. Emily employs a range of evidence-based therapeutic approaches including; Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Mindfulness-based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and Meta-Cognitive Therapy.

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Emma Burton

Emma Burton

 

Emma has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults with a range of issues. She works with individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, adjustment difficulties, and perinatal mental health issues. Emma also works with families to address behavioural issues in children and parenting strategies. Using evidence-based approaches to treatment, including cognitive behaviour therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness interventions, Emma tailors her treatment to the needs of each person.

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Katharina Targowski

 

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Esha Jamnadass

 

Esha works with children, adolescents, adults and couples. She has experience with a wide range of presentations including generalised anxiety, phobias, panic, depression, behavioural difficulties in children and relationship difficulties in couples. She also has experience with autism spectrum conditions and has submitted a PhD thesis in this area. Esha's uses evidence-based therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. She has also been trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples. Esha tailors treatment to each client using a collaborative approach.

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Dr Rachael Sim

 

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Clare Kwan

 

Clare has 10 years of experience in providing psychotherapy to children, adolescents and their families. She has worked across private, community-based and public health services in Perth as well as in Singapore.

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Dr Joel Howell

 

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BEN PEARCY

Ben Pearcy

 

Ben has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults with a range of mental health concerns. Ben has delivered therapeutic interventions for a variety of presenting problems including gaming disorder, all forms of anxiety, OCD, perfectionism, low self-esteem, depression, eating disorders, chronic pain management, and suicide prevention. Ben has a curiosity that drives his interest in ensuring clients success and recovery using evidence-based practice, including cognitive behavioural therapy, meta-cognitive therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, and dialectical behavioural therapy skills. Ben completed his PhD in clinical psychology, investigating Internet gaming disorder.

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Dr Gemma Healey

 

Dr Gemma Healey has experience working with a range of presenting problems including, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, grief, emotion dysregulation, and insomnia in children, adolescents, and adults. In her client work, she draws from a range of evidence-based interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy, metacognitive therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy. Gemma has also completed training in dialect behaviour therapy and employs strategies specific to this orientation in my client work. Gemma's approach to therapy is flexible with treatment plans being developed in collaboration with clients to ensure the needs of each individual are met.

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Dr Caitlin Pearcy

 

Dr Caitlin is an endorsed Clinical Psychologist and Board Approved Supervisor. She has experience working with a range of clinical presentations, including but not limited to depression, self-harm and suicidal ideation, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, perfectionism, trauma, personality disorders, low self-esteem, and grief and loss. She has a passion for working with adults and older adolescents and has a particular interest in complex trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and borderline personality disorder.

Caitlin works with her clients to create a non-judgemental, supportive, and safe space. She adapts her treatment to utilise a range of evidence-based treatment approaches based on the needs of her clients. These include Schema Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Metacognitive Therapy.

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Jane Flanagan

 

Jane has experience working with adolescents and adults who present with a wide range of concerns including post-traumatic stress, trauma-related concerns, depression, panic, generalised anxiety and obsessive-compulsive traits. Jane has focussed training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and employs techniques from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to suit the needs and style of her clients.

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Dr Kristen Seaman

 

Kristen is a Clinical Psychology Registrar who has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults presenting with a range of difficulties. She is skilled in helping clients manage anxiety disorders, including generalised, panic, social, separation, and phobias, as well as assisting clients to resolve the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders and depression.

Kristen’s aim is to help clients resolve their presenting problems and to develop skills to face any future difficulties. In doing so, she draws on a range of evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Meta-Cognitive Therapy. In addition, her work adopts a collaborative stance wherein she is passionate about working together and creating a relationship in which her clients feel understood.

Kristen is a member of the Australian Psychology Society and a provider of Medicare

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Dr Lisa Saulsman

 

Lisa graduated from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 2005.  She worked in public mental health for many years, primarily working with adults with depressive and anxiety disorders. Her clinical practice draws on a range of evidence-based treatments, particularly cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) and metacognitive therapy.  Lisa also holds a special interest in using acceptance, mindfulness, self-compassion and mental imagery strategies to enhance CBT.

Lisa has been involved in the development of new psychological treatments for anxiety and depression, social anxiety, worry and rumination, and the general management of emotions. Lisa has co-authored popular online self-help resources covering numerous clinical issues, such as worry, self-esteem, distress intolerance, self-compassion, procrastination, health anxiety and body dysmorphia.  Through her career Lisa has trained mental health professionals across Western Australia, and now works part-time as a Senior Lecturer at UWA, contributing to the training of developing clinical psychologists.

 

Lisa aims for therapy to be a collaborative, supportive and empowering experience, helping people to make sense of their difficulties and develop practical skills that positively impact their mental health and quality of life.

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Melissa Mulcahy

 

Melissa is a Clinical Psychology Registrar who works with adolescents and adults. She has experience working with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, worry and rumination, eating disorders, and in youth mental health. Melissa submitted a PhD thesis in Clinical Psychology on perinatal OCD (pregnancy and the postpartum) and has a strong interest in the treatment of OCD-related problems, such as health anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder, and body-focused repetitive behaviours (e.g., trichotillomania and excoriation/skin-picking).

 

Melissa also enjoys working with clients experiencing perinatal mental health issues, eating disorders, perfectionism, insomnia, and chronic pain. Her therapeutic style is compassionate, collaborative, and practical. She individualises treatment to each client’s goals, based on evidence-based therapies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Metacognitive Therapy, and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. Melissa is a State Committee Member for the Australian Association for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

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