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OCD Therapy
Specialized telehealth OCD therapy for adults, teens, and children across Maryland, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Evidence-based, neurodivergence-affirming care from therapists who understand how OCD actually shows up.
Juniper Blu Collective provides online OCD therapy for adults, teens, and children across Maryland, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Our team draws on evidence-based approaches for OCD, including CBT, ACT, DBT, and mindfulness-based therapy, with neurodivergence-affirming care. Founder Jamie L. Jones is a Certified Anxiety, OCD, and Panic Specialist. Whether your OCD centers on intrusive thoughts, contamination, harm, relationships, or something that feels too strange to name, specialized treatment exists and you can start it from home.
- OCD is defined by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) plus the rituals or mental acts used to ease them (compulsions), and many forms look nothing like the hand-washing stereotype.
- Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a form of CBT, is a first-line, evidence-based treatment for OCD in both children and adults.
- Published studies show OCD treatment can be delivered effectively by video.
- You don't need a diagnosis to reach out. A first conversation is about understanding what's going on.
If you're in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, help is available right now.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org (US, 24/7)
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 (US, 24/7)
- If someone is in immediate danger, call 911
What Is OCD?
OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) is a treatable condition in which unwanted, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) drive repeated behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) that a person uses to relieve the distress. The relief is short-lived, so the cycle repeats and tends to grow.
At Juniper Blu, OCD is one of our specialty areas. Founder Jamie L. Jones is a Certified Anxiety, OCD, and Panic Specialist, and several of our therapists work with OCD alongside anxiety, eating disorders, trauma, and neurodivergence. If anxiety more broadly is what you're noticing, our anxiety therapy page covers how we work with it.
What Are the Types of OCD?
OCD can attach to almost any theme, and the theme matters less than the pattern: an unwanted thought, distress, and a ritual to make the distress stop. Several of the most common themes are also the least talked about, which is why so many people go years without a name for what they're experiencing.
| OCD theme | What the intrusive thoughts center on | Common compulsions |
|---|---|---|
| Pure O (primarily obsessional) | Distressing thoughts with no visible ritual | Mental: reviewing, checking memories, seeking reassurance, ruminating |
| Contamination | Germs, illness, bodily fluids, or feeling "contaminated" by people or ideas | Washing, cleaning, avoidance |
| Harm | Unwanted thoughts of hurting someone, often a loved one, or oneself | Avoiding people or objects, checking, seeking reassurance |
| Relationship | Doubts about a partner or one's own feelings | Comparing, analyzing, asking for reassurance |
| Just-right | A sense that something isn't complete or correct | Touching, repeating, arranging, counting until it "feels right" |
| Scrupulosity, sexual, health, existential | Morality or religion, sexual orientation or unwanted sexual thoughts, illness, meaning | Confessing, praying, checking, researching, mental review |
Common OCD themes and the compulsions that often go with them. A person can experience more than one theme, and themes can shift over time. Source: International OCD Foundation.
Pure O (Primarily Obsessional OCD)
Pure O involves intense intrusive thoughts where the compulsions happen inside your head: reviewing memories, mentally checking, seeking reassurance, ruminating. Because nothing is visible, people with Pure O often go a long time before anyone recognizes it as OCD. It responds to the same treatment as OCD with visible rituals.
Contamination OCD
This is the form most people picture: fear of germs, dirt, illness, or bodily fluids, often paired with washing, cleaning, or avoidance. It can also be emotional, such as a fear of being "contaminated" by certain people, places, or memories.
Harm OCD
Harm OCD involves unwanted thoughts about hurting someone, often a loved one or a child, or oneself. According to the International OCD Foundation, these thoughts are typically experienced as unwanted and against the person's values, and people with OCD typically do not want to act on them, which is why they work so hard to avoid or neutralize them. If you've been carrying thoughts like this in silence, a therapist who understands OCD can help you make sense of what you're experiencing without judgment.
If you're having thoughts of harming yourself that feel different from unwanted intrusive thoughts, or you're unsure, please use the crisis resources at the top of this page.
Relationship OCD
Relationship OCD shows up as persistent doubt about a partner, the relationship, or your own feelings, with constant analysis, comparison, or reassurance-seeking. It's confusing because the doubts feel like real relationship questions, when the pattern behind them is OCD.
Just-Right OCD
Just-right OCD is a nagging sense that something isn't complete until an action is repeated, arranged, touched, or counted until it "feels right." It often starts in childhood or the teen years and can continue into adulthood.
Other Themes
OCD can also center on morality or religion (scrupulosity), sexual orientation or unwanted sexual thoughts, health, existential questions, or body sensations. The theme varies; the cycle of intrusive thought and compulsion is what defines OCD.
What Is ERP?
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a form of CBT and a first-line, evidence-based treatment for OCD, with research support in both children and adults (Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 2019). It involves learning how OCD works, gradually facing the thoughts or situations that trigger distress (exposure), and practicing not doing the compulsion (response prevention).
The name sounds intense, but ERP is typically planned collaboratively and built step by step: a person and their therapist map obsessions and compulsions, rank situations from easier to harder, and start where it feels manageable. Over time, the brain learns that an intrusive thought doesn't require a response.
At Juniper Blu, our therapists draw on CBT, ACT, DBT, and mindfulness-based approaches for OCD. If we think ERP-focused care would serve you better, we'll tell you and talk through next steps together.
Who ERP May Not Fit Right Away, and When More Support Helps
ERP isn't the right first step for everyone. If depression, trauma, or an eating disorder is making daily life hard to manage, a clinician may start with stabilization and skills first. For some people, combining therapy with medication managed by a psychiatrist or other prescriber is helpful; one NIMH-funded trial found ERP added meaningful benefit for people whose OCD hadn't responded enough to medication alone (JAMA Psychiatry, 2013). If OCD is severely limiting your ability to work, eat, sleep, or leave home, a more intensive level of care, such as an intensive outpatient or residential OCD program, may be the right starting point, and we can help you think that through.
Does Online OCD Therapy Work?
Yes. Published studies have found OCD treatment delivered by video to be feasible, acceptable, and effective at reducing symptoms, including a large 2022 study of adults treated through video teletherapy (Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2022). In research on video-delivered ERP, exposures can take place in the real places where compulsions show up, like a person's kitchen, bathroom, or car, and therapists in one pilot study said seeing people's home environments helped them understand symptoms (Veterans telehealth pilot, 2023).
Juniper Blu has been a telehealth-native practice from the start, so online sessions aren't a workaround here. They're how we're built.
OCD Across the Lifespan
OCD can begin in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, and treatment is shaped by age. We work with all three.
OCD in Adults
Many adults who reach out have lived with OCD since their teens without a name for it. Treatment typically focuses on understanding the OCD cycle and building skills for the spikes that come with stress, transitions, and big life changes.
OCD in Teens
Teen OCD work usually includes the teen directly, with parents in a supportive coaching role and, when helpful, coordination with school. Sessions are built around the teen's pace and goals.
OCD in Children
Younger children often show OCD through behavior: getting stuck on "what ifs," needing the same reassurance again and again, or melting down when a routine changes. Treatment for children usually involves parents as active partners, and research supports parent-guided OCD treatment delivered through telehealth (Frontiers in Psychology, 2022).
Jamie L. Jones, Malca R. Gottlieb, and Batya H. Erickson work with children and adolescents with OCD; Megan M. Herbets works with adolescents and adults.
When Should You Reach Out About OCD?
It's worth talking to someone if intrusive thoughts are taking up a lot of your time, if rituals or mental routines are getting in the way of work, school, or relationships, if you've been keeping thoughts to yourself because they feel too shameful to say, or if past therapy didn't address OCD specifically.
You don't need an OCD diagnosis to start. Many people reach out before they have words for what's happening, and the first conversations are about understanding it together.
OCD and Co-Occurring Conditions
OCD often shows up alongside other conditions, and treatment works best when it accounts for the whole picture. Pairings we see often include:
- OCD and anxiety: generalized anxiety and OCD frequently overlap, and it can be hard to tell where one ends.
- OCD and eating disorders: both can involve intrusive thoughts and rigid, ritualized behavior.
- OCD and autism or ADHD: OCD can look different in neurodivergent people, and care should adapt to sensory and communication needs.
- OCD and trauma: OCD can emerge or intensify after traumatic experiences, and trauma-informed pacing matters when both are present.
Because Juniper Blu is a multi-specialty practice, we're often a good fit for people whose OCD overlaps with one of these areas.
How Does Juniper Blu Treat OCD?
OCD care at Juniper Blu Collective is individualized, and our therapists draw on evidence-based approaches including:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): noticing and shifting the thinking patterns that keep the cycle going.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): building flexibility so intrusive thoughts carry less weight.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): skills for managing intense distress, especially when OCD overlaps with mood or personality concerns.
- Mindfulness-based approaches: noticing OCD patterns without getting pulled into them.
- Neurodivergence-affirming care: for people whose OCD intersects with autism, ADHD, or sensory differences.
If we think ERP-focused care would serve you better, we'll tell you and talk through next steps together. When it helps, we coordinate with psychiatrists, primary care physicians, and dietitians.
Looking for support with a related condition?
OCD often overlaps with eating disorders, anxiety, autism, ADHD, and trauma. Visit our Eating Disorder Therapy, Neurodivergence-Affirming Therapy, or ARFID pages for more on how we work with these concerns.
What to Expect from OCD Therapy
Getting to know your OCD
The first sessions are about understanding your experience: what the thoughts are, what you do in response, what you've tried before, and what you want life to look like. This is listening, mapping, and building trust.
Learning the cycle and making a plan
Your therapist helps you see how OCD works in your specific case and, together, you map your obsessions and compulsions and build a step-by-step plan.
Active practice
You practice new ways of responding to intrusive thoughts and urges, using skills drawn from CBT, ACT, DBT, and mindfulness, at a pace you help set. This is the most active part of the work, with your therapist alongside you.
Staying steady
OCD can flare during stress and transitions. The final phase consolidates your skills and builds a plan for what to do if symptoms return, because a flare is a normal part of living with OCD, not a failure.
Therapists Who Work with OCD
Jamie L. Jones
Founder · LCPC, LPC, LCPAT, ATR-BC, C-DBT, TBHP
Certified Anxiety, OCD, and Panic Specialist with Advanced DBT training, autism certification and training, and 17+ years of clinical experience. Sees children, teens, and adults in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
View full bio →
Malca R. Gottlieb
LICSW (D.C.) · LCSW-C (MD) · C-DBT
EMDR-trained clinician offering relationship-centered psychotherapy for OCD alongside anxiety, trauma, and family concerns. Sees children, teens, adults, couples, and families in Maryland and Washington, D.C.
View full bio →
Megan M. Herbets
LPC (D.C.) · LCPC (MD)
DBT-trained Board Certified Supervisor working with OCD alongside anxiety, panic, mood concerns, and personality disorders. Sees teens and adults in Maryland and Washington, D.C.
View full bio →
Batya H. Erickson
LGPC (MD, D.C.) · NCC
Attachment-based, mindfulness-informed support for OCD alongside anxiety, trauma, and life transitions. Sees children, teens, and adults.
View full bio →
Jenna D. Howard
LGPC (MD, D.C.) · NCC
Draws on CBT, DBT, attachment-based, and mindfulness-based approaches for OCD, anxiety, and mood concerns. Sees young adults and adults.
View full bio →Payment & Cost
We offer concierge support to help you make the most of your out-of-network benefits. We do not accept Medicaid or Medicare at this time.
Visit our Payment Options page for full details.
Where We Offer OCD Therapy
Juniper Blu Collective offers OCD therapy by secure telehealth in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Virginia. You need to be located in a state where your therapist is licensed during each session.
Maryland
Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Silver Spring, Rockville, Potomac, Annapolis, Baltimore, Columbia, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Towson, and statewide. Online therapy in Maryland →
Washington, D.C.
All wards, including Capitol Hill, Georgetown, Dupont Circle, and Adams Morgan. Online therapy in Washington, D.C. →
Pennsylvania
Statewide, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Allentown, and Erie. OCD therapy in Pennsylvania is with Jamie L. Jones. Online therapy in Pennsylvania →
Virginia
Statewide. OCD therapy in Virginia is with Jamie L. Jones. Online therapy in Virginia →
Frequently Asked Questions
If you're in crisis or having thoughts of harming yourself, help is available right now.
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org (US, 24/7)
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 (US, 24/7)
- If someone is in immediate danger, call 911
No. You don't need a diagnosis to start therapy at Juniper Blu Collective. Many people reach out because they notice a pattern, like intrusive thoughts, repeated rituals, or avoidance, without knowing what it is. Early sessions focus on understanding what you're experiencing together.
ERP is a first-line treatment for OCD. At Juniper Blu Collective, our therapists draw on CBT, ACT, DBT, and mindfulness-based approaches for OCD. If ERP-focused care looks like a better fit for you, we'll talk that through openly and help you think about next steps.
Pure O is OCD, and it's treatable. The compulsions are mental, such as reviewing memories, mentally checking, seeking reassurance, or ruminating, and they respond to the same evidence-based treatment as visible rituals.
Yes. Unwanted thoughts about harm, sex, religion, or other taboo themes are common in OCD, and the International OCD Foundation notes they are typically experienced as unwanted and against a person's values. Our therapists hear these thoughts without judgment and help you make sense of them.
Yes. Jamie L. Jones, Malca R. Gottlieb, and Batya H. Erickson work with children and adolescents, and Megan M. Herbets works with teens. Treatment for younger children usually includes parents as active partners. We'll match your child with a therapist who fits their age and needs.
It varies with how long OCD has been present, how much it affects daily life, and what else is going on. Your therapist will talk through a realistic plan during the first sessions, and many people return for shorter periods of support if OCD flares during stressful times later.
Yes. Published studies have found OCD treatment delivered by video to be feasible and effective at reducing symptoms. Online sessions also let you work on OCD in the places it actually shows up, like your home.
Visit our contact page or call (202) 244-0818. Some of our therapists have openings for online therapy right now, while others are booking from a waitlist. We'll talk through what you're experiencing and help you find a therapist who fits, with no pressure to commit.
Start OCD Therapy with Juniper Blu Collective
If OCD has been shrinking your life, you don't have to keep managing it alone.
Now welcoming new patients. Some of our therapists have openings for online therapy right now, while others are booking from a waitlist. Reach out and we'll match you with a therapist who has availability, or add you to the waitlist for a specific therapist.
Connect With Usor call (202) 244-0818
This page is for general education and is not a substitute for individualized care. Reading it does not create a therapist–patient relationship. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 or call 911.