PODCAST · health
The OCD Stories
by Stuart Ralph
Welcome to The OCD Stories, hosted by Stuart Ralph. The podcast has been heard over 8million times globally. Check out your first episode from our existing hundreds of episodes featuring experts, and people experiencing symptoms just like you today. If you do, you may just feel understood, heard and possibly help you identify your next step in your own personal journey to healing.Disclaimer - this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. Please seek treatment from a licensed mental health professional.
Episodes
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Saraa D. Lee: OCD, love and marriage: a shift in treatment approach (#559)
In episode 559 I chat with Saraa D. Lee, MSW, LCSW. Sarah is an OCD therapist who also lives with OCD. After recently getting re-married and having a second baby, her experience with OCD led her to take a different approach to helping people with OCD find, build, and maintain lasting love in…
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Dr Anthony Pinto and Dr Michael Wheaton: Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) (#588)
In episode 558 I chat with Dr Anthony Pinto and Dr Michael Wheaton. Anthony Pinto, Ph.D. is Senior Director of the Northwell Health OCD Center at Zucker Hillside Hospital on Long Island and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell....
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Krista Reed: Learning to be authentic in life and OCD recovery (#557)
In episode 557 I chat with Krista Reed. Krista is a Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker (LSCSW). Krista is passionate about working with patients who have Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders. We discuss her therapy and OCD journey, being your authentic self, struggling to develop an...
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Story: Jake Moss (existential OCD, and experiencing unethical practices from an OCD coach) (#556)
In episode 556 I chat with Jake who has kindly agreed to share his story with us. Jake is a psychotherapist and person with lived experience of OCD. We discuss his OCD story, experiencing panic, having a drug induced mental health episode, existential themed OCD, working with an unethical OCD...
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Natalia Aíza: Self-Guided Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy for OCD (#555)
In episode 555 I chat with Natalia Aíza. Natalia, LPC, is a therapist, writer, and mental health advocate. She is the founder of Kairos Wellness Collective, an innovative therapy center specializing in OCD and Anxiety Disorders. She is the author of Self-Guided Exposure and Response Prevention...
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Story: Pat (religious and relationship OCD, pOCD, ERP) (#554)
In episode 554 I chat with Pat who has kindly agreed to share his story with us. We discuss getting diagnosed, religious themed OCD, relationship themed OCD around friendships, pOCD, switching themes, speaking to his workplace about his OCD, exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), his...
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Ashley Ordway and Victoria Schweiger: OCD Summer camps for kids (#553)
In episode 553 I chat with Ashley Ordway and Victoria Schweiger. Ashley is a licensed mental health counselor and acting President of the Board at JACK MHA. Ashley's work at the University of Florida Health was foundational in developing the University of Florida's Fear Facers Camp, one of the...
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Story: Andrea (existential and sensory OCD, Bergen 4-day treatment) (#552)
In episode 552 I chat with Andrea who has kindly agreed to share her story with us. We discuss panic attacks, existential OCD, some OCD worries including what if gravity ceases to exist and what if my eyes roll up into my head, a core fear of living with suffering, her experiences at the Bergen...
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Story: Andrew (sexual orientation OCD, psilocybin, therapy) (#551)
In episode 551 I chat with Andrew who has kindly agreed to share his story with us. We discuss his story, how a bad experience with psilocybin triggered his OCD, trying to control thoughts, medication, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), sexual orientation themed OCD, compassion focused...
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Chrissie Hodges: The OCD Relapse Roadmap (#550)
In episode 550 I chat with Chrissie Hodges. Chrissie is a Peer Support specialist, founder of OCD Gamechangers, and Author of 'Pure OCD: The Invisible Side of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder' and 'The OCD Relapse Roadmap'. Chrissie was awarded the hero award at the 24th IOCDF conference in San…
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Justin Hughes and Dr Ted Witzig, Jr.: The Christian's Guide to Overcoming OCD (#549)
In episode 549 I chat with Justin Hughes and Ted Witzig, Jr. PhD. Justin, MA, LPC, is a therapist and author specializing in OCD and anxiety. A CBT practitioner trained in psychology and theology (Dallas Theological Seminary), he bridges mental health and faith. Ted, PhD is a clinical…
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Rebecca and Dr Jeremy Rowe: Rebecca shares her OCD story and how her work with Jeremy helped (Relationship OCD, RF-ERP) (#548)
In episode 548 I chat with Rebecca and Dr Jeremy Rowe. Rebecca kindly agreed to share her OCD story and her therapy work with Dr Jeremy Rowe with us. Jeremy is a chartered psychologist and clinical director of Ark Psychology, a UK-based independent practice providing specialist OCD treatment…
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Story: Nathaniel Wood (Intrusive thoughts, UFC) (#547)
In episode 547 I chat with Nathaniel Wood. Nathaniel is an English professional mixed martial artist who competes in the UFC. He has kindly agreed to share his OCD story with us. We discuss his OCD story, hit and run themed OCD, intrusive thoughts, health anxiety, religious themed OCD…
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Dr Peter Aston: Treating OCD in professional athletes (#546)
In episode 546 I chat with Dr Peter Aston. Dr. Pete Aston is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he specialises in the treatment of OCD, health anxiety, and related conditions using exposure and response prevention (ERP). He is also the co-founder of...
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Duke Al shares his OCD poems (#545)
In episode 545 I chat with Duke Al. Duke is a spoken word artist and OCD advocate. In this episode Duke reads some of his poems about OCD and explains the meanings behind them, including a new one partially inspired by a bit of my own story, he talks the power of poetry, and how he used poetry as…
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Story: Nicole Sophia (Suicidal, Sexual Orientation, and Relationship themes of OCD, self-compassion and her music) (#544)
In episode 544 I chat with Nicole Sophia who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. We discuss suicidal themed OCD, getting diagnosed young, meeting Dan Siegel, sexual orientation themed OCD, relationship themed OCD, her music, mental compulsions, feeling her feelings, self-compassion,...
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Jonny Say: Self-compassion in OCD recovery (#543)
In episode 543 I chat with Jonny Say. Jonny is a UK based therapist and co-director at The Integrative Centre for OCD Therapy. We discuss self-compassion, integrating self-compassion into exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), some benefits of self-compassion, the inner critical voice,...
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Blakely Hunze-Austin: OCD and Sex (#542)
In episode 542 I chat with Blakely Hunze-Austin. Blakely is a licensed professional counselor in the states of Colorado and Tennessee. She obtained her master's degree in clinical mental health counseling with a concentration in addictions. She's a nationally certified counselor who specializes…
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Story: Brad Stulberg (Self-harm-themed OCD, writing, and his book The Way of Excellence) (#541)
In episode 541 I chat with Brad Stulberg who has kindly agreed to share his OCD story with us. Brad is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who writes about mastery, meaning, and excellence. We discuss his OCD story, beginnings of his OCD, health obsessions, self-harm themed OCD,...
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Alex Habens: A Therapist's journey with OCD and Compassion Focused Therapy (#540)
In episode 540 I interview Alex Habens. Alex is a BABCP Accredited CBT Therapist, Clinical Supervisor and OCD Specialist. He also works with myself at The Integrative Centre for OCD Therapy. We discuss why he became a therapist and his own OCD experiences, what is compassion focused therapy…
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Katie d'Ath: OCD therapeutic communities and groups (#539)
In episode 539 I interview Katie d'Ath. Katie is a cognitive behavioural therapist with a special interest in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and anxiety disorders. She is also the co-author of "Managing OCD with CBT for Dummies" and she has a popular YouTube channel where she shares OCD...
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Dr Ronald Nicholson: Sensory OCD (Somatic/Sensorimotor OCD) (#538)
In episode 538 I chat with Dr Ronald Nicholson. Ron is a clinical psychologist. We discuss why he doesn't use somatic and sensorimotor OCD labels interchangeably, why he likes the label of sensory OCD, core fear vs the content, the idea of taking the B grade, the obsessions and compulsions around...
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Story: Shannon (existential themed OCD and postpartum OCD) (#537)
In episode 537 I chat with Shannon who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. We discuss her earliest OCD memory, various themes of OCD, existential themed OCD, worrying everyone is an 'non-playable character (NPC)', finding out it was OCD, starting therapy for OCD, doing therapy...
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Dr Fugen Neziroglu: When a higher level of care may be needed, and overvalued ideation (#536)
In episode 536 I chat with Dr. Fugen Neziroglu. Fugen is a board-certified cognitive and behavior psychologist and the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Bio Behavioral Institute in Great Neck, NY. Fugen has published more than 150 papers in scientific journals and authored or co-authored…
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Story: Michael (health anxiety, trauma and OCD) (#535)
In episode 535 I chat with Michael who has kindly agreed to share his OCD story with us. We discuss his OCD story, nightmares in childhood, relationship themed OCD, the onset of his OCD, harm themed OCD, getting therapy, experiencing a health condition, medical trauma, health anxiety, balancing...
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Rachel Kuchem Woodward: Faith, Scrupulosity and OCD (#534)
In episode 534 I chat with Rachel Kuchem Woodward (LCSW). Rachel is the owner of Re-Viving Lives Counseling, in Fort Worth. Rachel is a therapist holistically and clinically treating girls and women since 2019. Having her own 20+ year personal journey with OCD, Rachel is passionate about treating...
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Dr Steven Phillipson and Sean: 'Sarnos' and Sean's story (#533)
In episode 533 I chat with Dr Steven Phillipson and his patient Sean. Steven is a licensed clinical psychologist who specialises in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for OCD. Steven is the Clinical Director at the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy in New York. He is joined by one of his...
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Dr Sorcha O'Connor: The PsilOCD study investigating low-dose psilocybin for OCD (#532)
In episode 532 I chat with Dr Sorcha O'Connor. Sorcha is a neuroscientist and PhD graduate from Imperial College London, where she led the PsilOCD study investigating low-dose psilocybin for OCD. We discuss Sorcha's background that led her to this work, what is psilocybin, the background to the...
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Story: Alex (suicidal OCD, existential OCD, health anxiety, I-CBT) (#531)
In episode 531 I chat with Alex who has kindly agreed to share his OCD story with us. We discuss his OCD story, suicidal themed OCD, inference-based cognitive behavioural therapy (I-CBT), worries of harming others, existential themed OCD, how his wife helped, meditation, low self worth,...
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Story: Amy (relationship OCD, harm OCD, contamination OCD) (#530)
In episode 530 I chat with Amy who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. We discuss relationship themed OCD, harm themed OCD, contamination themed OCD, realising that what was going on was OCD, compulsions, disordered eating, how her husband helped, finding the OCD community, doing...
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Dr Jon Hoffman: Rethinking Mental Rituals: A Philosophical Conversation (#529)
In episode 529 I chatted with Jonathan Hoffman. Jon is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology. He co-founded the NBI Ranch and the Neurobehavioral Institute (NBI), where he was Chief Clinical Officer, exiting these roles at the end of 2025 after many...
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Jeff Bell: Lessons that OCD and its treatment have taught Jeff about navigating Parkinson's (#528)
In episode 528 I chat with Jeff Bell, a past guest of the podcast. Jeff is a long time OCD advocate and is the author of "When in doubt, make belief" and "rewind, replay, repeat". Jeff co-founded adversity to advocacy. We get a recap of his OCD story, the idea of greater good motivation, lessons...
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Ethan Tuccienza: Exposure to emotions (#527)
In episode 527 I chat with Ethan Tuccienza. Ethan is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and clinical director of Behavioural Psych Studio's LA office. We discuss his therapy story, dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), exposure to emotions,...
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Story: Mike (sexual orientation OCD, existential OCD, somatic OCD, harm OCD) (#526)
In episode 526 I chat with Mike who has kindly agreed to share his OCD story with us. We discuss sexual orientation themed OCD, existential themed OCD, somatic themed OCD, harm themed OCD, compulsing around the recovery process, getting therapy, working with Dr Steven Phillipson and Dr Michael...
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Story: Charlotte (harm and suicidal themed OCD, journaling, therapy) (#525)
In episode 525 I chat with Charlotte who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. We discuss her story, worrying she was pregnant as a kid, realising it's OCD, experiencing theme switches, harm themed OCD, mental health health anxiety, suicidal themed OCD, getting therapy, acceptance and...
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Ray Kolke: Rumination by the Numbers (RBTN) as a tool for dealing with rumination (#524)
In episode 524 I chat with Ray Kolke. Ray is a licensed mental health counsellor (LMHC) who works with people affected by OCD and anxiety. We discuss his therapist background, why he doesn't ask his clients how they are feeling at the start of the session, he discusses not focusing on feelings in...
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Story: Angie (Health anxiety, contamination OCD, suicidal OCD) (#523)
In episode 523 I chat with Angie who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. We discuss health anxiety, contamination themed OCD, and suicidal themed OCD. Doubting whether it's OCD or not, compulsions, uncertainty, getting therapy including exposure and response prevention therapy…
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Lauren Rosen: Mental Compulsions in OCD (#522)
In episode 522 I chat with Lauren Rosen, LMFT. Lauren is a therapist and founded the Center for the Obsessive Mind, an outpatient clinic serving individuals in California, Florida, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania and select other states and countries. Lauren is the author of The Mental...
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Story: Regan (Harm and contamination OCD, panic attacks) (#521)
In episode 521 I chat with Regan who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. We discuss her OCD story, the journey to getting an OCD diagnosis, moving countries in adolescence, panic attacks, harm themed OCD, contamination themed OCD, exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP),...
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Brad Hufford: Functioning well despite OCD distress is still a victory (#520)
In episode 520 I chat with Brad Hufford. Brad is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW-C) who specialises in working with OCD. He is a therapist at the Behavior therapy Center of Greater Washington. We discuss Brad's OCD story, being a therapist over the last 30 years, exposure and response...
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Story: Ally Kristan (Grief, worries of harm coming to others, her book) (#519)
In episode 519 I chat with Ally Kristan who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. We discuss her story, her compulsions, starting therapy in adolescence, grief, worries of harm coming to others, what else has helped her, intuition, her book, connection with nature, animism, penguins…
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Jonny Say and Stuart Ralph role-play a key ACT skill for rumination (#518)
In episode 518 Jonny Say and I practiced some Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) skills together. Jonny is a UK based therapist and co-director at The Integrative Centre for OCD Therapy. We discuss the skill dropping anchor, how the skill dipping in and out of the stream can help us learn…
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Spenser Gabin: Reflections on ERP therapy, and becoming a therapist (#517)
In episode 517 I chat with Spenser Gabin. Spenser is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in Encinitas, California We discuss his OCD, becoming a therapist, his thoughts on Ian O'Brien's episode and clinical perceptive on Ian's research findings on exposure and response prevention…
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Story: Emma (Group therapy, OCD around parenting, real event OCD) (Ep516)
In episode 516 I chat with Emma who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. We discuss OCD around parenting, real event themed OCD, group therapy and experiences of it, rumination, reassurance, dealing with shame, creativity in recovery, and much more. Hope it helps. Show notes:...
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The 10-Year Anniversary Episode: Featuring the Listeners (#515)
In episode 515 I opened the 10-year anniversary episode up to the listeners. People were able to make a recording of a 30 second sound bite for the show. This episode features all those recordings. Thank you to all those who submitted a sound bite. And thanks to you for listening and for your...
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Dr Ronald Nicholson: AI and OCD (#514)
In episode 514 I chat with Dr Ronald Nicholson. Ron is a clinical psychologist. We discuss why it's important to talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and OCD, AI and reassurance, how AI can play into compulsions, cognitive struggles due to over reliance on AI, the detriment of the loss of...
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Story: Amanda (OCD themes: Religion, harm and contamination) (#513)
In episode 513 I chat with Amanda who has kindly agreed to share her OCD story with us. We discuss OCD themes of religion, harm and contamination. Amanda talks about depression, controlling food, stopping driving, navigating the Covid pandemic and OCD, compulsions controlling other people…
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Dr Steven Phillipson and Sarah: Metaphysical OCD and Sarah's story (#512)
In episode 512 I chat with Dr Steven Phillipson and Sarah. Steven is a licensed clinical psychologist who specialises in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for OCD. Steven is the Clinical Director at the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy in New York. He is joined by one of his patients,...
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Melissa Mose: Integrating IFS and ERP for OCD (#511)
In episode 511 I chat with Melissa Mose. Melissa is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who treats OCD. Melissa is president of the IOCDF affiliate OCD SoCal. We discuss her new book for therapists on internal family systems therapy (IFS) for OCD, what is IFS, integrating IFS and exposure…
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Dr Steven Poskar: Medications for OCD (#510)
In episode 510 I chat with Dr Steven Poskar. Steven is a psychiatrist and clinical director of OCD NYC. He is also a member of the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation. We discuss his therapy journey, myths and misconceptions around OCD medication, SSRIs for...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to The OCD Stories, hosted by Stuart Ralph. The podcast has been heard over 8million times globally. Check out your first episode from our existing hundreds of episodes featuring experts, and people experiencing symptoms just like you today. If you do, you may just feel understood, heard and possibly help you identify your next step in your own personal journey to healing.Disclaimer - this podcast is not a replacement for therapy. Please seek treatment from a licensed mental health professional.
HOSTED BY
Stuart Ralph
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The OCD Stories have?
The OCD Stories currently has 567 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The OCD Stories about?
Welcome to The OCD Stories, hosted by Stuart Ralph. The podcast has been heard over 8million times globally. Check out your first episode from our existing hundreds of episodes featuring experts, and people experiencing symptoms just like you today. If you do, you may just feel understood, heard...
How often does The OCD Stories release new episodes?
The OCD Stories releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 567 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.
Where can I listen to The OCD Stories?
You can listen to The OCD Stories on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The OCD Stories?
The OCD Stories is created and hosted by Stuart Ralph.
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