OCD Related Content

Everything You Need To Know About OCD in Kids and Teens

While working on a project together, you see a friend packing up their work supplies in a very neat fashion. You can’t help but point out that they’ve organized all their pens to be lined up in order of color and all facing the same direction in their box. “Oh,” they reply. “That’s just my OCD.”...

Understanding OCD and Religious Scrupulosity

When people have religious scrupulosity, one form of obsessive compulsive disorder, they experience significant doubt, anxiety, and distress about their moral beliefs or religious practices. For example, people who have scrupulosity may worry if they are performing the rites, observations, prayers...

Everything You Need To Know About OCD

We all experience anxiety, a feeling of dread that happens to be your body’s natural response to stress. It may be brought on by a variety of circumstances, including making an important decision, an upcoming test, or meeting someone new. If someone is living with an anxiety disorder like OCD, these...

Everything You Need To Know About Anxiety

When we think of “anxiety,” we tend to think about feeling stressed out. Actually, anxiety is our body’s reaction to a threat to our well-being. Without anxiety, we would not react when we are in danger, and we likely wouldn’t be alive today without it. However, anxiety can be so much more than...

Everything You Need To Know About Hoarding Disorder

Hoarding disorder is a mental health condition characterized by saving items that appear to have little or no worth, often accumulating magazines, mail, newspapers, and old clothing. Between reality TV shows and common misconceptions about the condition, hoarding disorder is deeply misunderstood by...

Everything You Need To Know About Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy

Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, is a serious condition that can disrupt someone’s daily life. It is marked by obsessions, or unwanted intrusive thoughts, and physical or mental actions taken to relieve anxiety associated with the obsessions. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy is...

What Is Sexual Orientation OCD?

Sexual identity is an important part of how we view ourselves. Most people have little trouble knowing who they find attractive. This may not always be easy, of course. Varying factors, like religion, community values, social fears, etc., may create obstacles for someone trying to actualize their...

Staff Profile: Diane Davey, RN, MBA

Ms. Davey has been a member of the McLean community since 1985. After working in inpatient and residential programs using a cognitive-behavioral approach, she was a co-founder of the OCD Institute when it opened in 1997 as the first residential treatment program for OCD in the country. Since that...

Staff Profile: Scott L. Rauch, MD

Scott L. Rauch, MD, is president, psychiatrist in chief, and Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Chair of Psychiatry at McLean Hospital. He is also professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School as well as chair of Mass General Brigham Behavioral and Mental Health. Dr. Rauch is past president and...

Staff Profile: Jenifer M. Cullen, PhD

Jenifer M. Cullen, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in working with teens and adults struggling with anxiety disorders, OCD, and OCD spectrum disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder, trichotillomania and excoriation disorder. Dr. Cullen is a full-time behavioral therapist...

Staff Profile: Jane Eisen, MD

Jane Eisen, MD is clinical director of the Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders at McLean Hospital, overseeing the integration of clinical work and research in the division. Her clinical responsibilities include her work in The Pavilion, where she evaluates and treats individuals with...

Staff Profile: Martha J. Falkenstein, PhD

Martha J. Falkenstein, PhD, is an assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the director of research for the Office of Clinical Assessment and Research (OCAR) at the OCD Institute at McLean Hospital. Her research focuses on investigating...

Staff Profile: Jacob A. Nota, PhD, ABPP

Jacob A. Nota, PhD, ABPP, engages in a program of clinical and translational research focusing on the nature and treatment of obsessive compulsive and related disorders. His specialty is in the intersection between sleep, circadian rhythms, and anxiety disorders. Dr. Nota’s research has specifically...

Staff Profile: Carol R. Hevia, PsyD

Carol R. Hevia, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist who has worked with OCD patients for 25 years. She received her first master’s degree in counselor education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, completed her second master’s degree and doctorate at Florida Institute of Technology, and conducted...

Staff Profile: Rebecca Snyder, LICSW

Rebecca Snyder, LICSW, received her BA in Psychology from Brandeis University and her master’s degree from Simmons College. Her second year internship for graduate was at McLean Hospital, in the geriatric psychiatry program. Upon graduation, she worked as a social work float, providing clinical...

Staff Profile: Thea Cawley, MSW, LICSW

Thea Cawley, MSW, LICSW, earned her Master of Social Work from Boston University and has over thirty years experience in a wide range of clinical settings including residential treatment, inpatient psychiatry, school settings, and outpatient treatment. She has clinical expertise in working with...

Staff Profile: Jennie M. Kuckertz, PhD

Jennie M. Kuckertz, PhD, is a research psychologist at the OCD Institute and is a recent recipient of the Corneel Young Investigator Award at McLean Hospital. Her research interests are in mechanisms of treatment for OCD and anxiety disorders, including traditional interventions such as exposure and...

Staff Profile: Michelle Silverman, PhD

Michelle Silverman, PhD, is a staff psychologist who works with children, teens, and parents in the McLean Anxiety Mastery Program (MAMP). She specializes in providing evidence-based treatments, including cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP) to youth...

Staff Profile: Jesse M. Crosby, PhD

Jesse M. Crosby, PhD, is a clinical associate at McLean Hospital and a lecturer on psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He also manages a private practice in clinical and consulting psychology in Lexington, Massachusetts. Dr. Crosby has specialized clinical and...

Staff Profile: Nathaniel Van Kirk, PhD

Nathaniel Van Kirk, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, specializing in severe anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and trauma/PTSD. At McLean Hospital, Dr. Van Kirk is the director of psychological services at the OCD Institute. He is a member of the hospital’s Patient and...