When every answer leads to another “what if”, it can feel as though your mind never lets you put anything down.
I offer CBT for adults experiencing OCD, including exposure and response prevention (ERP), in Norwich and online across the UK. My approach is structured, collaborative and attentive to mental compulsions, shame, over-responsibility and neurodivergent needs.
Book a Clarity & Direction Consultation
OCD can be hard to see from the outside
You may repeatedly check what happened, replay conversations, search for reassurance or try to work out what an unwanted thought means about you. Other people may see someone conscientious and capable while you spend hours trying to feel certain.
OCD can involve unwanted thoughts, images, urges or doubts, alongside actions or mental rituals intended to reduce distress or prevent a feared outcome. Compulsions are not always visible. Reviewing memories, analysing feelings, confessing, checking intentions and silently neutralising thoughts can become part of the pattern.
The question is not simply what you think about, but how you respond, how much time it takes and how it affects your life. We explore this carefully during assessment.
Difficulties we can explore
My work includes obsessive doubt, intrusive thoughts, checking, reassurance-seeking and mental compulsions. Themes may involve harm and responsibility, relationships, contamination, mistakes or concerns about morality and being a good person.
Moral scrupulosity can involve repeated attempts to establish whether you have been honest, fair or sufficiently caring. You might feel driven to explain every detail or obtain a definitive answer about your character. Therapy focuses on the process keeping you stuck, rather than repeatedly settling each doubt.
How CBT and ERP can help
I’m Becky Grace Irwing, a BABCP-accredited CBT therapist, EMDR therapist and Registered Mental Health Nurse. We develop a shared understanding of your OCD cycle and agree practical goals based on the life you want to reclaim.
CBT that includes ERP is a NICE-recommended psychological treatment for OCD. ERP involves approaching agreed triggers while reducing the compulsions used to obtain relief or certainty. This can include mental rituals as well as visible behaviours.
We plan the work collaboratively, with a clear rationale and manageable steps. You will not be surprised with exposure tasks. The aim is to change your relationship with doubt and distress, not to establish that every feared possibility is impossible.
My work may also draw on Inference-Based CBT, which focuses on how obsessional doubt develops. I will explain the rationale, evidence and alternatives when discussing an approach. Between-session practice is agreed around your goals and capacity.
OCD and The Good Person Trap®
When OCD attaches itself to morality or responsibility, “being good” can become something you feel you must prove repeatedly. It may become difficult to distinguish a freely chosen value from a rule driven by fear.
The Good Person Trap® is my conceptual framework for exploring how goodness becomes tied to safety, belonging and worth. It can be useful for some clients with OCD, but it is not an explanation for all OCD and does not replace OCD-focused assessment or treatment.
OCD, Autism and ADHD
We can adapt communication, pacing, written information and between-session tasks to your needs. We also explore the difference between compulsions, sensory needs, helpful routines and autistic repetitive behaviours, rather than treating every repeated behaviour as something to remove.
Therapy should help you work towards meaningful change while respecting your neurotype and autonomy.
Questions about OCD therapy
Do I need a diagnosis before booking?
No. You can book a consultation if you are unsure whether OCD describes your experience. We will consider possible explanations and whether this is the right service for you.
What if most of my compulsions happen in my head?
Mental compulsions are an important part of assessment and treatment. We can work on reviewing, analysing, neutralising and reassurance-seeking even when there are no obvious outward rituals.
Will we use EMDR for OCD?
EMDR is not my default treatment for OCD. If trauma-related difficulties also need attention, we can consider whether EMDR has a role within a wider plan while keeping the OCD treatment focused on what maintains it.
What if my OCD is severely affecting daily life?
We will consider whether outpatient private therapy is sufficient or whether you need additional specialist or medical support. I do not prescribe medication or provide crisis care, but we can discuss involving your GP or existing team.
Start with Clarity and Direction
The first step is a 90-minute Clarity & Direction consultation, available in Norwich or online across the UK. We explore what is happening, consider whether my practice is the right setting and discuss the support most likely to be useful.
The fee is £195, including a personalised written summary with my initial formulation, recommendations and suggested next steps. There is no obligation to continue into therapy with me.
Ongoing 50-minute therapy sessions cost £125. Appointments in person take place at 125 Ber Street, Norwich, NR1 3EY.
Book a Clarity & Direction Consultation
Not sure whether to book? Contact me with a brief outline of what you are looking for.