Our Approach to OCD Treatment
OCD can make it difficult to trust your own thoughts, decisions, and experiences. At Mind by Design, we provide specialized online OCD treatment throughout New Jersey using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Virtual Reality ERP and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
OCD Treatment Options
Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP)
ERP focuses on changing how you respond to obsessive fears. In ERP, you work with your therapist to gradually face the thoughts, situations, or sensations that trigger your OCD without turning to compulsions for relief. Over time, you learn that you can handle discomfort and uncertainty without needing to do something to make those feelings go away.
Depending on how OCD affects you, ERP may involve:
Gradually facing situations you’ve been avoiding because of obsessive fears.
Practicing being uncertain without asking for reassurance or trying to find an answer.
Learning to recognize and resist compulsions, including checking, repeating, confessing, and mentally reviewing situations.
Cutting back on habits or routines you use to feel safe or prevent something bad from happening.
Practicing exposures outside of therapy so you can apply what you’re learning to everyday situations.
Virtual Reality ERP (VR ERP)
VR ERP uses simulated environments to help you face situations that trigger obsessive fears while resisting the urge to avoid, seek reassurance, or engage in compulsions. Over time, you build confidence in your ability to handle discomfort and uncertainty, using what you’ve practiced in virtual reality to face similar situations in everyday life.
Depending on how OCD affects you, VR ERP may involve:
Using virtual reality to gradually face situations or experiences that trigger obsessive fears.
Practicing being around feared situations in a simulated environment without relying on compulsions to feel better.
Learning to resist checking, reassurance-seeking, avoidance, or other behaviors you typically use to manage anxiety.
Working through different exposure scenarios at a pace that supports your treatment goals.
Building on what you practice in virtual reality by applying those same skills to real-life situations outside of therapy.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT focuses on changing how you relate to unwanted thoughts and feelings rather than trying to get rid of them. In ACT, you work with your therapist to recognize when you’re getting caught up in your thoughts and practice allowing them to be there without needing to challenge, analyze, or control them. Over time, you learn to make decisions based on what matters to you rather than what your anxiety is telling you to do.
Depending on how OCD affects you, ACT may involve:
Cognitive defusion: Learning to notice obsessive thoughts without treating them as facts, warnings, or problems you need to solve.
Acceptance and willingness: Practicing sitting with uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and uncertainty instead of trying to make them go away.
Values-based action: Making choices based on what matters to you, even when OCD is pushing you to do something else.
Psychological flexibility: Building your ability to respond to difficult thoughts and feelings without automatically falling back on compulsions or avoidance.
Rebecca Sidoti, LCSW
OCD | Anxiety | Phobias | Ketamine Therapy
Brittany Gomez
Anxiety | Depression | Trauma
Lyn Diaz
Stress | Anxiety | Trauma
Bridgette Favale
Postpartum Wellness | Anxiety | Panic Disorder
OCD Treatment for All Subtypes
OCD can involve many different fears and themes, but the underlying cycle of obsessions, compulsions, and avoidance is often similar. At Mind by Design, we provide specialized OCD treatment for a range of presentations, including contamination OCD, harm OCD, relationship OCD, just-right OCD, and sexual orientation OCD. Treatment focuses on identifying the patterns maintaining your symptoms and helping you respond differently, regardless of the content of your intrusive thoughts.
Unsure if OCD Treatment is right for you?
OCD can overlap with other mental health concerns, including anxiety disorders, specific phobias, depression, and trauma-related symptoms. Our assessment process explores your intrusive thoughts, compulsions, avoidance patterns, and related symptoms to better understand what’s contributing to your difficulties. This helps us determine whether OCD-focused treatment is appropriate and develop a treatment plan that addresses your specific needs.
Why Work with an OCD Specialist
Meet Our OCD Treatment Providers & Clinical Interns
Rebecca Sidoti, LCSW
Rebecca is a Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional (CCATP) with specialized training in treatment for OCD, Anxiety Disorders, Phobias and Panic Attacks. Her clinical training includes advanced coursework in exposure-based treatment, applied neuroscience for anxiety disorders, and virtual reality for phobia and anxiety treatment, with over 40 hours of post-graduate CE focused specifically on anxiety and OCD treatment, approved by NASW-NJ and the Association of Social Work Boards.
Brittany Gomez
Anxiety
Depression
Trauma
Lyn Diaz
Stress
Anxiety
Trauma
Bridgette Favale
Postpartum Wellness
Anxiety
Panic Disorder
OCD Treatment with Clinical Interns
All interns are supervised under Rebecca Sidoti, LCSW to ensure professional, quality online therapy. Clients receive the same supportive, structured therapy experience, with the added benefit of reduced session fees.
- OCD-specific training:
- Childhood OCD: Symptoms & Assessment
- Fundamentals of Exposure-Based Therapy for OCD and Anxiety Disorders
- Treatment of OCD in Adults
- Integrating Key Principles of Inhibitory Learning Theory Into Your Exposure Practice
FAQ About OCD Treatment in New Jersey
Is OCD treatment effective online?
Yes. ERP can be delivered through telehealth, and online treatment may allow clients to practice exposures in the environments where their OCD symptoms occur.
Mind by Design provides online OCD therapy to clients physically located in New Jersey during their appointments. The suitability of online treatment is assessed individually
What if my compulsions happen mostly in my head?
OCD does not always involve visible rituals. Mental checking, reviewing memories, analyzing thoughts, repeating phrases, testing feelings, and seeking certainty can all function as compulsions.
ERP can address these internal responses by helping you recognize mental rituals and practice allowing intrusive thoughts to remain unanswered.
Will ERP force me to face my biggest fear right away?
No. ERP is planned collaboratively, and exposures are selected with attention to your readiness, treatment goals, and clinical needs.
We often use a fear hierarchy to organize exposure work. The objective is to build willingness and response-prevention skills rather than overwhelm you or pressure you into situations without adequate preparation.
What if I know my OCD fears are irrational but still cannot stop worrying?
Insight alone does not necessarily interrupt OCD.
You may recognize that a thought is unlikely or unreasonable and still experience an intense urge to check, review, avoid, or seek reassurance.
ERP focuses on changing your response to these urges rather than repeatedly trying to prove that your fears are unfounded.
How do I know whether OCD treatment is working?
Progress may involve fewer compulsions, less avoidance, reduced dependence on reassurance, and greater ability to make decisions despite uncertainty.
We also look at practical improvements in daily functioning, such as returning to activities, completing responsibilities, and engaging in relationships without allowing OCD to dictate your behavior.
Anxiety may still occur, but it does not have to determine your choices.
Can family members participate in OCD treatment?
When clinically appropriate and with appropriate consent, parents, partners, or other support people may be involved in treatment.
Family involvement often focuses on identifying accommodation, reducing reassurance cycles, supporting exposure practice, and responding to distress without unintentionally reinforcing compulsions.
Do you accept insurance for OCD therapy?
Mind by Design is an out-of-network provider and offers courtesy claim submission for clients with applicable out-of-network insurance benefits.
Private-pay therapy is also available. Reimbursement depends on your insurance plan, deductible, allowed amount, and other benefit terms.