OCD Therapy In NYC
Dr. Sam Klugman, PsyD
Bethany Sinclair, LMHC
For over 15 years, we’ve helped people with OCD using evidence-based approaches, including Exposure and Response Prevention, the gold standard treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder.
Do you have intrusive, distressing, or “stuck” thoughts that, no matter what you do, keep coming back?
Do you struggle with overwhelming doubts about situations even if they seem irrational or improbable?
Are the efforts to manage these thoughts and alleviate anxiety around them with physical or mental rituals and behaviors interfering with your day to day life?
OCD often shows up as intrusive thoughts that can feel repetitive, alarming, or taboo. The harder you try to push them away, the stronger and louder they can feel. Physical and mental rituals and compulsions can take up increasing amounts of time and focus, feeling relieving in the short term but disruptive and overwhelming.
It can feel exhausting, confusing, and deeply isolating.
Clients Come To Us For
Intrusive, upsetting, or repetitive thoughts
Compulsive checking
Reassurance seeking from friends, family, or the internet
Mental rituals such as “canceling” or “neutralizing” thoughts
Persistent relationship doubts
Contamination fears
“Just right” urges
Time-consuming routines
OCD is not a flaw.
It’s one of the leading causes of disability in the world and is treatable with sufficient support and expertise.
For many people struggling with OCD, their obsessive thoughts can often feel too bizarre or disturbing to even say out loud, especially when the content is violent, blasphemous, or sexual in nature.
As therapists with expertise in this area, we recognize this as a common feature of OCD and really have “heard it all.” Talking with an OCD therapist means you won’t be judged or labeled for your intrusive thoughts. It means taking a big step toward giving OCD less power over your life.
Common OCD Subtypes
We’ve Worked With:
Checking OCD — needing to constantly check/double check emails, locks, appliances, the road when you’re driving
Relationship OCD — doubting that is never settled like if person loves you, is “the one,” trustworthy, etc
Contamination OCD — concerns about germs, illness, a toxin, a substance, becoming sick or causing others to become sick
Harm OCD — fears of causing harm to others or self, with disruptive avoidance behaviors such as avoiding spending time with loved ones or triggering situations
“Just Right” or completeness OCD — sense of needing something to feel just right or complete, often triggered by experiences in the environment and leading to compulsive behaviors such as arranging or repeating
Sexual or Gender Identity focused OCD — intrusive and repetitive doubts about discovering an unknown of your sexuality or gender identity, that you might be “living a lie without even knowing it,” with associated compulsions around checking
Beyond subtypes, we will work with you to address the core themes and fears that commonly underlie OCD, including developing new relationships to uncertainty and doubt, control, and responsibility.
How Therapy With Us Works
Therapy with us focuses on helping you change your relationship to intrusive thoughts and reduce the compulsive behaviors that keep OCD going. We will not try to eliminate thoughts. Instead, we will work on reducing their power over your actions and your life.
Modalities We Use
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The gold standard treatment for OCD. Helps you face triggers while reducing compulsions so your brain learns you can live your life without relying on rituals.
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A form of CBT that helps you remain open and present despite anxious thoughts and emotions, while moving to engage in the areas of your life that matter most to you.
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Helps you disengage from the logical leaps and faulty reasoning that can fuel OCD and stay connected to the immediate and present experience of your five senses.
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Helps cultivate presence in day to day life without becoming overwhelmed with intrusive thoughts, urges, and physical symptoms
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Techniques that help you step back from obsessive thought patterns through labeling, describing, and distancing.
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Reduces shame and harsh self-judgment that often accompany OCD symptoms.
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Therapy that recognizes and addresses the ways or our identities and experiences in the world can be connected to social anxiety, perfectionism, and fears of judgment.
After OCD Therapy With Us,
Clients Report:
Fewer compulsions
Less frequent and intense intrusive thoughts
Decreased avoidance of triggering situations
Greater clarity and ability to concentrate
Less reassurance seeking and strain in relationships
More flexibility
Greater calm, decreased anxiety
More time and energy
Over time, thoughts and rituals can become less distressing and interfering, allowing you to live a more engaged and open life.
Our OCD Therapists
Dr. Sam Klugman, PsyD
I am a member of the International OCD Foundation with over 15 years of providing CBT, ERP and ACT therapies.
Bethany Sinclair, LMHC
In addition to providing ERP, I have training in inference-focused CBT and ACT.
3 Steps To Get Started
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Fill out the contact form. We will respond personally and will let you know if we are the right fit or refer you elsewhere if needed.
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We’ll talk briefly about what you’re experiencing and see if working together feels like a good match.
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We will map out your OCD patterns and begin structured work to reduce compulsions and build new responses to obsessive thoughts and intense emotions.