Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) serves as a blanket term that includes various cognitive and behavioral therapies, integrating elements of both. Due to its strong research base, CBT is considered the first line of treatment for various mental health conditions, including anxiety disorders and OCD. At its core, CBT operates on the premise that our thoughts, emotions, and actions are interconnected. Initially, CBT guides you in understanding how your thoughts and core beliefs influence your emotions and behavior. Subsequently, it teaches you strategies to alter these unhelpful thought patterns, leading to positive shifts in your feelings and actions. Finally, CBT actively addresses maladaptive behaviors, encouraging you to adopt healthier responses to both internal and external stimuli.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a specific type of CBT, is widely recognized as the gold standard treatment for anxiety disorders, particularly OCD. The key idea underlying ERP is to deliberately face your fears while learning to resist the urge to perform compulsions/safety behaviors. Despite its apparent simplicity on paper, ERP is a difficult treatment because it requires that you directly confront your triggers. It feels counterintuitive because, at first, your distress goes up. In contrast to the immediate relief offered by rituals, the rewards of ERP unfold gradually over time. Thus, persevering in the face of immediate discomfort and delayed gratification proves demanding. Yet, it is precisely because of these challenges that ERP is so effective, as it directly tackles the factors that fuel the OCD and anxiety cycle.

A behavioral approach, falling under Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In recent years, it has garnered increasing recognition as a complementary treatment for OCD and anxiety disorders. The core focus of ACT in treating anxiety and OCD is to foster psychological flexibility— the capacity to remain present and pursue a life aligned with one's values in the face of distress. In essence, the objective isn't to eliminate anxiety or intrusive thoughts but to change your response to these uncomfortable experiences, freeing your life from their negative influence. Consequently, the integration of ACT into ERP aligns exposure work with the broader goal of leading a fulfilling life while accepting the inevitable presence of pain.

Existential therapy embraces a therapeutic perspective that encourages the exploration of the inherent truths of existence—death, freedom, isolation, and meaning. Anxiety, rooted in unconscious conflicts, emerges from 1) confronting the inevitability of change and mortality, 2) navigating self-consciousness and the responsibility that comes with free will, 3) balancing our desire for connection with our intrinsic separation from others, and 4) seeking purpose in an apparently indifferent world. For those facing OCD and anxiety disorders, this approach guides you in confronting the deep-seated existential anxiety veiled by your symptoms. It prompts you to assume ownership of your life, actively pursuing meaning despite the presence of anxiety.

Anchored in the interpersonal model, existential therapy establishes a direct link between personal fulfillment and the ability to cultivate satisfying relationships. It strives to break down the barriers hindering your ability to form gratifying connections. By delving into clients' here-and-now experiences within the therapeutic relationship, therapy reveals insights into your interpersonal challenges, fostering a profound, caring, honest, yet challenging client-therapist relationship.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapeutic approach that embraces the concept of multiplicity within the mind, understanding people as composed of various parts, each with unique perspectives, feelings, and roles. Instead of viewing mental health symptoms as disorders, IFS sees them as the result of certain parts taking on extreme roles in an effort to protect you from emotional pain or trauma. Thus, anxiety and OCD symptoms are seen as strategies which arose to shield you from perceived threats and vulnerabilities. By recognizing the positive intentions behind your OCD or anxiety, IFS encourages you to adopt a non-judgmental and compassionate stance towards your symptoms—reframing them as adaptive strategies rather than inherent problems. The goal is not to eliminate your protective parts but to release them from their extreme roles and restore harmony within your internal system.