Support that respects how OCD works
Visible and hidden compulsions
We look at actions, mental rituals and reassurance seeking, not only obvious habits.
Gradual exposure planning
Work is stepped carefully so practice feels challenging but still manageable.
Understanding obsessions, compulsions and relief
OCD is more than liking things a certain way or being cautious. It involves intrusive obsessions and compulsions that may include checking, cleaning, repeating, mental reviewing, reassurance seeking or other rituals aimed at reducing distress. Relief usually lasts only briefly, and the cycle can start again even stronger.
Through Cleeve Therapy Group, we take time to understand both the obvious and less visible parts of OCD, because mental rituals and attempts to gain certainty can be easy to miss. That fuller picture helps us plan therapy around the pattern that is actually troubling you, rather than only what another person might notice from the outside.
Gradual work on rituals and uncertainty
A central CBT approach for OCD is exposure and response prevention, where feared situations are approached gradually while ritual responses are reduced. With Cleeve Therapy Group, this work is planned carefully through a manageable hierarchy, so you are not being thrown in at the deep end.
We also look at rumination, mental reviewing and the pull to seek certainty, because progress often depends on changing those hidden responses as well. Online and clinic appointments are both available, with the same focus on repeated practice in everyday situations.
Frequently asked questions
What if my compulsions are mostly mental?
That is still important to talk about. OCD does not only involve visible actions. Mental reviewing, silent repetition, rumination and attempts to gain certainty can all act as compulsions. We look at those hidden responses carefully because they often keep the cycle going.
Will exposure happen all at once?
No. Exposure and response prevention is planned gradually. We agree a hierarchy of situations and build up in a way that is challenging but manageable, with attention to what you are doing internally as well as what can be seen from the outside.
How does therapy help with the need for certainty?
A lot of OCD treatment involves learning that certainty cannot always be achieved, and that repeatedly chasing it keeps the problem strong. Therapy helps you notice that pull, reduce rituals linked to it and tolerate the discomfort of not resolving every doubt.