Therapists for OCD

This directory page brings together therapists who list narrative therapy among their approaches and who work with people concerned about OCD. Use the listings below to compare approaches, focus areas, languages and credentials as you consider next steps.

OCD and the stories people carry

When obsessive thoughts and repetitive practices become a feature of your life, you may also carry a set of stories about who you are and what the world asks of you. Narrative therapy begins from the idea that people make sense of their lives through stories, and that those stories - shaped by families, schools, workplaces and wider culture - can be thin and unkind. In the context of OCD, familiar stories often sound like explanations about identity - you might find yourself telling a story that you are a person who must be perfectly certain, or that you are unreliable unless you carry out particular rituals, or that intrusive thoughts mean something about your character. These narratives shape how you notice experiences and which moments get foregrounded as proof of the story.

Originating in Australia and New Zealand in the 1980s through the work of Michael White and David Epston, narrative therapy gives you language and methods to examine those stories. Rather than focusing primarily on changing specific thoughts or teaching skills, a narrative approach helps you externalise the problem, locate where the story came from, and attend to moments that do not fit the familiar account. The intention is to build a preferred story - an account of your values and commitments that holds up in everyday life - not to promise a particular outcome. Most therapists who list narrative therapy among their approaches combine it with other methods, so the way this work appears in practice varies across clinicians.

How narrative therapy works with OCD

At the heart of narrative work is the practice of separating the person from the problem. In a therapeutic conversation this is called externalising. For someone experiencing OCD, externalising means talking about intrusive thoughts, urges and rituals as the problem - for example, "the worry about contamination" or "the checking that interrupts you" - rather than as evidence that you are a flawed person. This shift makes it possible to describe the problem's effects on your life and to explore how the problem has come to hold the position it has in your day to day story.

Tracing the familiar story

A narrative therapist will also be interested in where the familiar story originated. That might involve tracing messages you received in childhood, expectations in your family or workplace, cultural beliefs about purity and safety, or moments in relationships that shaped a sense of responsibility or blame. These conversations are not about assigning fault but about making visible the forces that shaped a thin, limiting story. By mapping those influences you can see how a particular account of yourself became dominant.

Gathering unique outcomes and re-authoring

Another core practice is noticing unique outcomes - moments when the familiar story does not hold. You may have acted against the pattern, resisted a ritual, or noticed a thought without acting on it. Narrative practitioners listen closely for these exceptions because they offer raw material for re-authoring. Re-authoring is the ongoing process of developing a richer story that highlights your values, commitments and skills in ordinary life. Techniques such as re-membering conversations, outsider witnesses and definitional ceremony are ways of enlarging that new story by involving other voices and events that support it.

What to expect in narrative sessions for OCD

Early conversations in a narrative approach typically begin with gentle, curious questions aimed at understanding the story you carry about your difficulties. You can expect questions that invite description - how the problem operates, when it started to take up space in your life, who notices it most, and what it asks you to do. The tone tends to be exploratory rather than confrontational, and the aim in early sessions is often to create a clear, externalised description of the problem that you can examine together.

As you move beyond initial naming, sessions shift toward discovering unique outcomes and testing alternative stories. A therapist may ask you to recall times when the problem had less influence, or when you acted in ways that align with values important to you. Conversations about re-authoring may include inviting important people to witness parts of your story, or developing narratives that you can try out in daily life. Pace varies: some people prefer a steady, conversational rhythm while others move more quickly into action-oriented experiments. Remember that most clinicians who list narrative therapy among their approaches blend it with other frameworks, so the proportion of narrative work in a given session depends on the therapist and on what you want from the work.

Is a narrative approach the right fit for OCD?

People who are drawn to narrative therapy often value being seen beyond a diagnostic label. If you find that a story handed to you by family, culture or a service does not capture your values or experience, you might find narrative conversations helpful for creating an alternative account. Narrative work differs from approaches that focus primarily on thought content, such as cognitive behavioural methods, or those that teach specific coping skills, such as dialectical behaviour-oriented programs. It also differs from therapies that centre on insight into early past events because narrative practice foregrounds present and future story-making as a way to reshape meaning rather than only digging for origins.

That said, narrative therapy is not mutually exclusive with other approaches. Many therapists integrate narrative practices with techniques from behavioural, acceptance-based or relational therapies to address the practical aspects of living with OCD alongside story work. There is no reliable way to know in advance whether a particular approach will suit you. Many people use an initial conversation to sense whether the therapist's style, questions and priorities match what they are looking for.

How to choose a therapist who works narratively with OCD

When you review profiles of clinicians who list narrative therapy among their approaches, focus on the details that speak to fit: the therapist's stated focus areas, the populations they work with, languages offered and professional credentials. In early contact, it is reasonable to ask directly how much of their work they usually do narratively and what a typical session looks like. You can also ask where they trained and what other approaches they integrate. Asking about licensure or registration in the jurisdiction where you live is a practical step you may wish to take to confirm professional standing.

Evaluating fit often comes down to the first conversation. Notice whether the therapist invites your perspective on the story you carry, whether they ask about moments that do not fit the dominant narrative, and how they propose working toward a preferred story. If you are planning to work online, narrative practice is largely conversational and translates well to video sessions because it depends on careful listening and reflective questioning rather than on physical tools. Ultimately the choice of therapist is a personal one, and many people find clarity by asking a few direct questions and reflecting on how comfortable they felt in that first exchange.

Next steps and things to keep in mind

If you are exploring narrative therapy for OCD, use the listings on this page to compare how clinicians describe their work and what they emphasise. When you contact someone, ask about the role narrative ideas play in their sessions and how they might integrate other approaches if needed. Pay attention to whether the therapist listens for the stories that shape your life and whether they invite you into re-authoring in ways that feel meaningful. Narrative therapy's aim is to help you expand the range of stories available to you so that a preferred account - one that reflects your values and commitments - becomes more visible in ordinary life. There is no guarantee that any one approach will fit, but careful, curious conversations often reveal whether a particular therapist's narrative orientation is likely to be a helpful match for you.