Mina Kirkova, LCSW-C
Individual Therapy and Counseling for Adults
in Phoenix, Maryland
EXPOSURE AND RESPONSE PREVENTION (ERP) THERAPY FOR OCD IN ADULTS
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a specialized form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) used to treat Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). ERP focuses on changing the cycle between intrusive thoughts, anxiety or distress, and compulsive responses.
I am Mina Kirkova, MA, MSW, LCSW-C, a licensed clinical social worker with more than 20 years of clinical experience. I provide ERP therapy for adults with OCD as part of my individual psychotherapy practice in Phoenix, Maryland.
WHAT IS ERP?
ERP stands for Exposure and Response Prevention.
The exposure part involves gradually approaching thoughts, situations, images, urges, or uncertainties that trigger OCD.
The response prevention part involves reducing or resisting the compulsions, checking, reassurance seeking, avoidance, or mental rituals that usually follow.
The goal is to help you learn that you can experience uncertainty or distress without automatically responding with a compulsion.
HOW OCD CAN MAINTAIN ITSELF
OCD often follows a repeating cycle.
An intrusive thought, doubt, image, or urge creates distress. You may then check, avoid, seek reassurance, repeat a behavior, review something mentally, or perform another ritual to feel safer or more certain.
That response may bring temporary relief, but it can also reinforce the OCD cycle.
ERP helps interrupt that pattern by reducing compulsive responses over time.
OCD CAN INVOLVE VISIBLE OR MENTAL COMPULSIONS
OCD may involve concerns about contamination, harm, mistakes, relationships, morality, religion, health, or things not feeling “just right.”
Compulsions may include:
- Checking
- Washing or cleaning
- Repeating actions
- Seeking reassurance
- Avoidance
- Counting or arranging
- Mentally reviewing conversations or memories
- Repeating words or thoughts internally
- Trying to reach complete certainty
Compulsions do not always look obvious from the outside. Mental rituals can be just as significant as visible behaviors.
HOW ERP THERAPY WORKS
ERP treatment is individualized.
Together, we identify the obsessions, compulsions, avoidance patterns, reassurance seeking, and mental rituals that are affecting your life. We then develop a gradual treatment plan and practice facing OCD-related triggers while reducing the compulsive responses that keep the cycle going.
ERP is not about forcing you into overwhelming situations. Treatment progresses gradually and is tailored to your symptoms and goals.
ERP AND UNCERTAINTY
A strong need for certainty is common in OCD.
You may feel that you need to know for sure that you did not make a mistake, that nothing bad will happen, or that an intrusive thought does not mean something important about you.
ERP helps you practice moving forward without repeatedly checking, reviewing, asking for reassurance, or trying to eliminate every doubt.
Over time, this can reduce the amount of control OCD has over your choices and daily life.
ERP FOR ADULTS IN PHOENIX, MARYLAND
I provide ERP therapy for adults from my office in Phoenix, Maryland.
Virtual individual therapy is also available for adults who are physically located in Maryland at the time of their session.
QUESTIONS ABOUT STARTING ERP THERAPY?
If OCD, intrusive thoughts, compulsions, checking, reassurance seeking, avoidance, or difficulty tolerating uncertainty are interfering with your daily life, you are welcome to contact me to discuss whether ERP therapy may be a good fit for your needs.
We can discuss your concerns, previous treatment experiences, current appointment availability, fees, and next steps.
Mina Kirkova, MA, MSW, LCSW-C
Individual Therapy and Psychotherapy for Adults
Phoenix, Maryland
(443) 322-6552
mina@minacounseling.com
Individual Therapy and Psychotherapy for Adults
Phoenix, Maryland
(443) 322-6552
mina@minacounseling.com
Mina Kirkova, MA, MSW, LCSW-C
Individual Therapy and Counseling for Adults in Phoenix, Maryland
