OCD Therapy in Center City, Philadelphia
and online across PA & NJ
Trauma-Informed ERP That Helps You Stop Living in Loops
for children, teens, and adults
Your brain says “just check one more time.”
And your body listens—because what if you’re wrong?
What if the stove is still on, the door isn’t locked, the thought does mean something?
At All of You Therapy, we help people of all ages untangle from the anxiety loops that OCD creates. Our approach blends Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) with a trauma-informed, attachment-focused lens—so you don’t just manage symptoms, you feel safer in your own mind again.
We offer OCD therapy in Philadelphia and via telehealth for clients in PA and NJ.
What OCD Actually Feels Like
Rewriting emails over and over to avoid offending someone—and then re-reading the response for signs they’re mad anyway
Replaying the memory of closing the garage door until it barely feels real anymore
Avoiding knives or staircases because an image flashes in your mind that you can’t unsee
Silently counting steps or tapping corners to keep your child safe
Needing to confess a thought to your partner—not because you did anything wrong, but because it feels like you might have
Getting stuck on whether you really believe something—or if the fact that you even questioned it means you're a bad person
How We Approach Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)?
ERP is the gold-standard treatment for OCD. It teaches your brain that you can experience anxiety—and not follow it with a compulsion. Over time, the anxiety shrinks, and your confidence grows.
-
We build your exposure plan with you. You’ll never be asked to do something that feels unmanageable. The goal is challenge, not overwhelm.
-
We help you stay regulated while doing hard things. That might mean grounding techniques, tracking nervous system cues, or slowing down to notice what a part of you is afraid will happen if you don’t do the compulsion.
-
OCD often attaches to what matters most: your values, your relationships, your identity. We help you explore the roots of those fears—how earlier relational experiences shaped them—and practice new, more secure ways of relating.
-
If you’re also navigating ADHD, autism, or sensory sensitivities, you’re not alone. We adapt our work to respect how your brain processes information, without trying to “fix” your wiring. We recognize that the traditional ERP therapy does not always take into account neurodivergence. We, very intentionally, make sure we do, and collaborate with you to intentionally make sure that your treatment is affirming of your unique needs.
-
Parents and partners can learn how to support exposures without getting stuck in the loop themselves. We help them show up with steadiness, not over-accommodation.
-
We don’t just practice exposures in session and hope they stick. We design them to fit into your actual life—your routines, relationships, and responsibilities—so that change doesn’t live in the therapy room, it lives in your day-to-day.
What OCD Therapy Actually Looks Like
✘Sitting with the urge to check the stove, and choosing not to
✘ Letting an intrusive thought pass like background noise, without dissecting what it “means”
✘ Walking past the sink without washing again
✘ Noticing that a part of you is sure something bad will happen—and choosing to experiment with a different outcome
✘ Hearing the thought “What if I’m a bad person?” and choosing not to mentally argue back
✘ Sitting with the fear that you might have sinned or done something “wrong” without confessing or seeking reassurance
Results that stick
Passing a knife in the kitchen and continuing to make dinner, even with a scary image in the back of your mind
Saying a prayer once instead of over and over until it feels “just right”
Letting your child eat a dropped snack without sanitizing it—and being fully present for the rest of the picnic
Choosing not to confess a “bad” thought to your partner and learning it doesn't make you a bad person
Letting a relationship feel uncertain without mentally testing your love or scanning for proof something is wrong
OCD treatment for children and teens
We specialize in ERP for kids and adolescents, and we don’t expect them to “get it” just because we explain it. Kids need to feel it, see it, play with it.
We use developmentally appropriate games, books, art, and play-based tools to help children externalize OCD (“the bossy brain”), understand what’s happening inside them, and slowly build confidence to respond differently.
That might look like:
Naming the OCD voice using puppets or stories
Turning an exposure into a challenge game with a visual tracker
Drawing what it feels like in their body when OCD shows up—and what helps it move through
Reading picture books that make invisible fears feel less confusing and less shameful
We also partner with parents throughout the process. You’ll learn how to support exposures at home, set clear boundaries around reassurance, and stay connected without accidentally reinforcing the fear cycle.
OCD Therapy FAQ
-
Yes! Telehealth ERP works beautifully, especially when exposures involve your home environment. We serve clients across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
-
Yes. Many people with OCD also carry trauma histories. We tailor ERP so it doesn’t retraumatize—slowing down when needed, integrating somatic supports, and staying deeply attuned to your nervous system’s cues.
-
This uncertainty is extremely common—especially with OCD itself. In fact, needing to be 100% certain before starting treatment can be part of the cycle. You don’t have to feel completely sure to begin. We’ll sort it out together.
-
No. ERP is collaborative. You’ll never be pushed into an exposure that you are unwilling to do or out of sync with your values. We move at a pace that challenges you without overwhelming you. We may push, stretch, encourage you. Something can feel unsafe without being unsafe. And above everything, we respect your choice and autonomy.
-
Yes. We support clients struggling with fears about sin, morality, blasphemy, or being “bad” in some way. We take these fears seriously and approach them with nuance, respect, and care—not shame or spiritual bypassing.
-
Yes, and it’s often essential. For younger kids, we often start with parent-only time. For teens, we collaborate with them to decide when and how parents are involved. Either way, we’ll support you in knowing how to be helpful at home without reinforcing compulsions.