Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Texas • Oregon • Washington• Online
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
What it is
ERP is a structured, evidence-based therapy designed to help people break free from the cycles of OCD and anxiety. At its core, ERP helps you gently and gradually face the fears, triggers, or obsessions that keep you stuck while learning new ways of responding that don’t rely on old compulsions or safety behaviors.
Instead of trying to “push away” anxiety or urges, ERP helps you build confidence and resilience in being with them, until they naturally lose their grip. You remain in control throughout the process—moving at a pace that feels safe, supported, and sustainable.
What it can help with
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in its many forms (contamination, harm, checking, religious/scrupulosity, sexual intrusive thoughts, “just right” feelings, etc.)
Body-focused repetitive behaviors (hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting)
Health anxiety or panic patterns
Phobias or fears that get in the way of daily life
Compulsive avoidance, reassurance seeking, or checking behaviors
Perfectionism, moral injury, or shame-driven patterns that feel impossible to shake
Who it’s good for
People who’ve tried talk therapy or coping skills but still feel trapped in OCD or anxiety loops
Those ready to work with their fears directly in a supportive, step-by-step way
High-responsibility professionals (healthcare, first responders, law enforcement, military) who need practical tools that work in high-stakes settings
Individuals navigating intrusive thoughts that feel shameful, confusing, or overwhelming—who need a compassionate, non-judgmental approach
Anyone tired of feeling controlled by rituals, compulsions, or avoidance
What to Expect in ERP
1. Setting the Stage
We start by getting clear on the patterns you want to change and the values you want to move toward. I’ll walk you through exactly what ERP is, answer questions, and make sure you feel supported and informed before we begin.
2. Creating Safety & Choice
ERP can sound intimidating at first, but the process is always collaborative. Together, we’ll design a hierarchy starting with the easiest steps so you feel prepared, resourced, and in charge. Consent and pacing are central: your nervous system, your choice, your pace.
3. Facing Triggers with Support
Using gradual exposure, we practice leaning into the thoughts, images, sensations, or situations you usually avoid. Instead of doing the ritual, compulsion, or safety behavior, you’ll learn to ride out the discomfort in a supported, compassionate space. Over time, your brain and body relearn that you are safe—and the intensity naturally decreases.
4. Building New Responses
As your system learns to tolerate and release anxiety without old compulsions, new responses emerge calm, presence, flexibility, and freedom. You’ll practice skills you can take into daily life, so the shifts aren’t just in session, but woven into your routines.
5. Integration & Reflection
After exposures, we process what came up emotionally and physically. We’ll notice shifts, celebrate progress, and anchor what you’ve learned. ERP is not just about reducing compulsions; it’s about reclaiming your time, energy, and freedom.
6. Between Sessions
Growth often continues outside the office. You may notice less time lost to rituals, more ease in facing situations you once avoided, or new clarity around intrusive thoughts. I’ll often give simple practices to help you strengthen what we build in session.
The Heart of ERP
With ERP, the goal is not to erase fear, but to loosen its grip so you can live more fully. Together, we create space for more freedom, authenticity, and connection in your daily life. You remain the driver; my role is to walk beside you with skill, compassion, and steadiness.
“What you resist, persists. What you allow, transforms.” — Carl Jung
I don’t see ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) as a rigid protocol or a quick fix. For me, it’s a powerful, evidence-based practice that when combined with trauma-focused therapies helps people move out of cycles of fear, avoidance, and compulsion, and back into fuller, freer living.
ERP is about creating the courage and safety to face what feels intolerable. Instead of pushing distress away or relying on compulsions to cope, we gradually teach your brain and body new ways of responding. Healing isn’t about erasing your struggles it’s about finding steady, compassionate ways to reconnect with yourself, loosen old survival patterns, and reclaim space for authenticity, choice, and connection.
That’s why I integrate ERP with the approaches I’m most deeply trained in and passionate about: Somatic & Attachment-Focused EMDR (Certified; Consultant-in-Training), Accelerated Resolution Therapy (Certified), Brainspotting, IFS-informed/Ego States work, and yoga-based nervous system practices.
What unites these approaches is a shared understanding: trauma, anxiety, and compulsions are not just “thought problems.” They live in your nervous system, your body, and the patterns that shape daily life. Real healing has to reach those deeper layers not just the surface.
Here’s how these approaches come together in practice:
ERP helps you face feared thoughts, feelings, or triggers while practicing new, more liberating responses, retraining the brain to trust that anxiety naturally rises and falls.
Somatic EMDR & ART guide the nervous system in reprocessing overwhelming memories so they stop hijacking the present.
Brainspotting taps into the body’s felt sense, helping access and release trauma stored beyond words.
IFS & Ego States work create space to meet different “parts” of yourself with compassion, building inner trust and softening self-blame.
Yoga-based nervous system practices weave the body back into healing, offering grounding, breath, and movement tools for everyday life.
Blending ERP with these therapies allows us to work with anxiety and trauma on multiple levels body, mind, and spirit. Together, we create a therapy space that is structured yet deeply human: always paced by you, guided by curiosity and compassion, never by force.
