Justin’s Blog: “The Jog”

Join my fellow expert, Saharah Shrout, MA, LPC-S, and myself for the recorded live presentation during #OCDWeek 2020 we gave for OCD Texas (IOCDF Affiliate) in 2020. A very rough copy of some notes, providing examples, is below.  I hope this helps you feel less alone and understand this: just about any distressing thought/feeling can […]

The research is really clear on this: disordered checking behaviors (and thoughts) lead to distrust of your memory (van den Hout & Kint, 2003; Radomsky & Alcolado, 2010).  Let’s say you walk away from your front door or your car.  You typically lock them.  But you start to think about it, and you are now […]

Lisa is a learner, sensitive to do the right thing, and receptive to the input of other people.  She’s just another example of one of the true “sweethearts” that I get to work with.  When we started therapy she was a “therapist’s dream”: receptive, ready to learn, willing to try any exercise suggested, and highly […]

When I first learned to implement mindfulness, relaxation, and deep breathing into my therapy practice, I have to admit I was surprised when some clients quickly stated one of a few things: They didn’t want to continue. It was distressing to them. It didn’t work for them.  It threw me off a little as a […]

The Question It was a good question.  Anne* suffered extensively with fear, anxiety, and OCD.  She wanted any relief she could find.  “Can I drink a little alcohol during exposures?” Little Therapist Justin As an early specialist in OCD, I said to Anne my favorite thing to say when I don’t know: “I don’t know.”  […]

As a gift to my subscribers, the guide, Get Unstuck: Your Intro to Facing Fear & Getting Healthy is YOURS, FREE.  Not a subscriber? This is the updated version of the prior “Thriving Mental Health Alongside COVID-19,” leaving the best intact along with new considerations for 2021 and several new handouts, connected articles, guides, and […]

As with many of my clients, Anne* was befuddled as to why she couldn’t stop obsessing.  She was a high performer at work and revered in relationships.  However, she couldn’t get it out of her thoughts that she was failing, that imminent doom was about to befall her, and that it would all come crashing […]

Women’s mental health is getting more attention now than maybe ever before, which I think is awesome.  Acknowledging the beauty and uniqueness of strengths and struggles helps women to be more successful in their lives.   Here are some key considerations in mental health for women. In the U.S., women are twice as likely to be […]

Two OCD Specialist colleagues (and friends) just having fun on how to write exposure scripts in OCD. Exposure Therapy, in a phrase, is the systematic and intentional triggering of fear while minimizing- and ideally eliminating- all pathological responses.  Imaginal Exposure accomplishes this with thoughts and ideas. It is done in the context of addressing unhelpful/pathological responses […]

Accidental workouts are great; just don’t base your exercise off of them.   Has this ever happened to you?  You have an exercise routine (walk, weights, circuit, CrossFit), and while expecting to take a holiday break, say Thanksgiving…..until someone challenges you in the paint for pickup game of basketball (in my family we had the 6 […]

When clients become experts in doing exposures (Social Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, Phobias), they become used to facing fear, disgust, and other uncomfortable feelings square on without tricks and escapes- while still pursuing the valued behaviors and thought processes they want.  Sounds too good to be true?  It’s not, but it takes discipline and hard work, […]

In poker, a “tell” is a sort of behavioral or observable change that, usually unbeknownst to the person, can reveal information that can be used for another player to get the upper hand.  Smirks, scratching of the nose, looking away, smiling- expert poker players work hard to conceal these (why many wear sunglasses). Notice Something […]