SoulSpaPsych@hush.com
Couples Therapy for OCD
Dating and relationships are harder with OCD.
You like someone, but OCD says that maybe you don’t
You want to reach out, but OCD tells you are a bad person
You finally go on a date, but OCD says you will say something offensive
Despite all this you continued dating and fell in love.
OCD tried to control when you said “I love you”
OCD told you that you couldn’t move in unless the place was perfect.
Asking if everything is “okay” became too repetitive, and you argued
It became difficult to tell the difference between OCD and your own voice
You may have gotten ERP treatment and learned to ignore your intrusive thoughts. But you also never learned how identify a real relationship issue that might also be an OCD thought. You stay silent, trying to do what is right for your OCD…but problems have lingered and festered.
You want to continue moving forward in your relationship, buy a home, start a family…
Love is extremely important.
You’ve probably hoped for a good relationship for a long time. You’ve probably worried that OCD might get in the way. You tried to follow your heart and hoped that your love could overcome it, but now you’re both hurting. You might be wondering if the relationship can even continue after so much pain.
OCD tried to steal your love story.
OCD is called the doubting disorder for an important reason. It is all about making
you doubt yourself. It can shift from relationship OCD to harm OCD or contamination OCD.
OCD tried to overshadow the joy from becoming parents.
Peripartum OCD and postpartum OCD often completely surprise couples. At a time when you should be more deeply in love than ever, you’re struggling through all kinds of intrusive thoughts and just wanting it all to stop. It’s so hard to find love, warmth, and connection at such a chaotic time. That’s where couples therapy for OCD — including support for perinatal and postpartum OCD — can help.
My approach to couples therapy for OCD…
… is about setting boundaries with OCD.
We’ll start with looking at how OCD has hurt your relationship.
You fell in love and thought you could move forward with your life. But your OCD got in the way and cast doubt on everything. OCD probably has also caused your partner to get frustrated with you, leaving you feeling guilty for asking for reassurance so many times. You maybe want to focus on building your family, but you are so full of fear that you can’t connect.
Then we will take time to understand what triggers your intrusive thoughts.
We will design exposures that you can both participate in. You will both learn to respond to OCD with love and compassion. We will be thorough and find which concerns are OCD worries and which worries are “real” and truly meant to improve your relationship.
Finally we will practice Gottman Relationship, ACT and other tools to build a satisfying love life
You will have an an opportunity to revisit what you originally wanted from your relationship. You will learn to enjoy intimacy again. You will play and have fun again. You will learn to lovingly work together, parent and create the relationship of your dreams while keeping OCD sidelined.
I know it can be scary to come in for therapy…
What if it doesn’t work?
Should we just break up now?
What if therapy makes things worse?
You’ve already tried doing it on your own. Couples therapy for OCD takes a different approach. This therapy is built specifically for people living with OCD, not generic relationship advice that doesn’t account for how OCD shows up between partners.
Call or text me today for your free 15-minute consultation to see how I can help: