OCD & Anxiety Therapy That Actually Works

OCD and anxiety don’t always look the way people think they do. Sometimes it’s not handwashing or checking the stove. Sometimes it’s a thought you can’t shake, a feeling that something is wrong but you can’t explain what, or a quiet dread that follows you through the day. OCD and anxiety are exhausting — not because you’re weak, but because your brain has gotten stuck in a loop it can’t break on its own.

OCD may look like:

•  Intrusive thoughts that feel disturbing, scary, or “wrong”

•  Constant “what if” thoughts that won’t shut off

•  Feeling stuck in your own head

•  An urge to seek reassurance — from Google, from your partner, from yourself

•  Needing things to feel “just right” or complete

•  Checking, rechecking, and checking again

•  Avoiding certain places, people, or situations because of what they might trigger

•  Exhaustion from trying to manage or control your thoughts

•  Racing thoughts that keep you up at night

•  A growing sense that your world is getting smaller

If this sounds familiar, you don’t need more positive thinking. You don’t need to “just relax.” You need a therapy that’s designed specifically for how OCD and anxiety work — and a therapist who’s been through it himself.

Why Jacob

Jacob was diagnosed with OCD in middle school. He knows what it’s like to be trapped in your own head — the constant doubt, the exhausting mental loops, the feeling that something is deeply wrong and no one around you understands why. He went through treatment as a kid, and it helped. But it wasn’t until years later, during his training at the Houston OCD Institute — one of the only specialized treatment facilities for OCD in the country — that he realized his OCD had never fully gone away. He’d been calling it “anxiety” for years, not recognizing that the mental reviewing, the need for certainty, the endless analysis — those were compulsions too.

That experience shapes how Jacob works with clients today. He doesn’t just understand OCD from a textbook. He understands it from the inside. He’s a member of the International OCD Foundation, has specialized training in ERP, and has worked with every major subtype of OCD. He knows what doesn’t work — and he knows what does.

Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy — the Gold Standard for OCD

What is ERP?

ERP is the most effective therapy for OCD, and it’s highly effective for anxiety disorders too. The idea is straightforward — you gradually face the things that trigger your anxiety or obsessive thoughts (that’s the exposure), while resisting the urge to perform compulsions or safety behaviors (that’s the response prevention). It’s not about talking through your thoughts until they make sense. It’s about doing — actively engaging with your fears and learning that you can handle the discomfort without giving in to the compulsion.

What does ERP with Jacob look like?

First, Jacob makes sure he understands how OCD shows up for you — your specific triggers, your compulsions (including the mental ones that are easy to miss), and what your life looks like when OCD is running the show. From there, you build an exposure hierarchy together — a roadmap of your fears, roughly ranked from least to most intimidating. Then you do the work. Jacob is with you every step of the way. You might jump around in the hierarchy, tweak it, or bring in other approaches like ACT when they’re helpful. Treatment is always individualized — because your OCD is yours, not a textbook case.

What should I expect?

This might sound counterintuitive, but the goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety. It’s to change your relationship with it. When you stay with the discomfort instead of running from it, your brain starts to learn that the feared outcome either doesn’t happen or that you can tolerate the uncertainty. Over time, the obsessive thoughts lose their grip. Most people see significant improvement within 12–20 sessions, and the skills you learn become tools you carry for life.

OCD Subtypes Jacob Treats

OCD is far more expansive than most people realize. It’s not just handwashing and checking locks. Jacob has experience treating all major subtypes of OCD, including:

•  Harm OCD — Intrusive thoughts about hurting yourself or others, even though you never would. The fear isn’t the danger — it’s the thought itself.

•  Contamination OCD — Intense fear of germs, illness, or “dirtiness” that drives washing, cleaning, or avoidance rituals.

•  Relationship OCD (ROCD) — Constant doubt about your relationship. “Do I really love them?” “Are they the right person?” The doubting never resolves, no matter how much you analyze it.

•  Scrupulosity / Religious OCD — Obsessive fear of sinning, offending God, or being a bad person. Often accompanied by mental rituals like praying “the right way” or confessing repeatedly.

•  Sexual Orientation OCD — Intrusive, unwanted thoughts about your sexual identity that feel ego-dystonic — meaning they don’t match who you know yourself to be.

•  “Pure O” / Mental Compulsions — OCD without visible rituals. The compulsions are internal — mental reviewing, reassurance-seeking, analyzing, checking your own feelings. This is the subtype Jacob’s own OCD took, and it’s one of the most commonly missed.

•  Perfectionism / “Just Right” OCD — A need for things to feel complete, symmetrical, or “just right,” with intense discomfort when they don’t.

•  Health Anxiety / Hypochondria — Persistent fear of having a serious illness, often accompanied by body scanning, Googling symptoms, or seeking reassurance from doctors.

If you don’t see your experience listed here, that doesn’t mean Jacob can’t help. OCD is creative — it latches onto whatever matters most to you. The mechanism is the same, and ERP works across all of them.

Ready to Take the First Step?

If you’re tired of OCD and anxiety calling the shots — if you’re ready to stop avoiding, stop Googling, stop white-knuckling your way through the day — Jacob offers a free 20-minute consultation. No pressure, no commitment. Just a conversation about what you’re going through and whether working together might help