OCD Treatment
OCD Treatment & ERP Therapy in North Carolina
The thought arrives. You know it's irrational. You hate that it came. But now you're stuck, trying to neutralize it, reason it away, or undo the distress it created. And it always comes back.
OCD is exhausting in a way that's hard to describe to people who don't have it. Tracey Stracener, LCMHCS, offers specialized OCD treatment via telehealth throughout North Carolina using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold-standard approach for OCD.
Schedule a Free ConsultationFree 15-minute call · Telehealth · North Carolina
OCD Is Not What Most People Think It Is
OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) is an anxiety disorder defined by intrusive, unwanted thoughts or images (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental rituals (compulsions) performed to reduce distress. The most effective treatment is ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention), a structured approach that teaches the nervous system the anxiety will pass without completing the compulsion.
The cultural image of OCD (someone who organizes their pencils and won't step on cracks) is so far removed from what most people with OCD actually experience that many people spend years not recognizing what they have.
OCD is defined by two things: obsessions (intrusive, unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that cause significant distress) and compulsions (behaviors or mental rituals done to reduce that distress, however briefly). The compulsion works in the short term. That's what makes it a trap.
OCD takes many forms. Some of the subtypes Tracey works with:
Harm OCD (fears of hurting yourself or others)
Religious or scrupulosity OCD
Pure O (primarily mental rituals)
Relationship OCD (ROCD)
Contamination OCD
Health anxiety / illness OCD
Intrusive sexual thoughts
"Just right" OCD and perfectionism
Postpartum OCD
Existential OCD
About Intrusive Thoughts
"Having an intrusive thought doesn't mean anything about who you are."
Research consistently shows that unwanted intrusive thoughts, even violent, sexual, or disturbing ones, are a normal part of human cognition. Most people have them and dismiss them without a second thought. For someone with OCD, those same thoughts get flagged as meaningful, dangerous, or revealing. The distress response keeps them circling.
The content of intrusive thoughts in OCD is often the opposite of what the person actually wants or values. People with harm OCD aren't dangerous. They're terrified of their thoughts because they care deeply about not causing harm. People with scrupulosity OCD aren't secretly immoral. They're tormented precisely because their values matter to them.
If you've been carrying shame about the content of your intrusive thoughts, that shame is one of the things OCD treatment addresses directly.
What ERP Therapy Is and Why It Works
Exposure and Response Prevention is the most evidence-based treatment for OCD. Study after study, it outperforms other approaches. The reason isn't complicated: ERP works with how OCD actually functions, rather than trying to outsmart it.
The exposure part means deliberately approaching situations, thoughts, or sensations that trigger OCD, rather than avoiding them. The response prevention part means resisting the compulsion (the behavior or mental ritual that temporarily reduces the anxiety).
Without the compulsion, the anxiety can't maintain itself. The brain learns, over repeated exposures, that the feared outcome doesn't happen, and that the distress, though real, is survivable. That's how the cycle breaks.
ERP is not flooding. Exposures are built gradually, at a pace that challenges you without overwhelming you. The work is collaborative. You and Tracey build the hierarchy together.
EMDR Alongside ERP
For some clients, OCD sits alongside trauma, either as a cause or a consequence. When that's the case, Tracey may integrate EMDR therapy into the treatment plan. ERP targets the OCD cycle directly; EMDR addresses the underlying trauma material that feeds it. The combination can be more effective than either alone.
Online OCD Treatment Works
ERP translates well to telehealth. Many exposures are imaginal (confronting feared thoughts) or can be done in the client's own home environment, which is often exactly where the OCD is most activated. In-home exposure work is sometimes more effective than in-office work for that reason.
Online OCD therapy also removes some of the avoidance that might otherwise delay starting. You don't have to find a specialist near you, commute to appointments, or sit in a waiting room. If you're in North Carolina (Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Greensboro, Charlotte, Asheville, or anywhere else in the state), this is accessible to you.
What to Expect
Many people who finally find proper OCD treatment say the same thing: "I wish I'd known about this years ago." The average person with OCD struggles for 14–17 years before receiving ERP-based treatment. That's not because they didn't try. It's because most therapists aren't trained in it.
In a first session, Tracey will work to understand your specific OCD presentation: what your obsessions are, what compulsions you're using, and what's most interfering with your life. From there, you'll start building a framework for the exposure work.
ERP requires effort outside of sessions. Practice between appointments is part of how progress happens. But you'll never be pushed into an exposure you haven't agreed to, and the pacing is always collaborative.
Fees and Insurance
OCD therapy sessions are covered by Aetna, NC State Health Plan, and BlueCross BlueShield of NC. The self-pay rate is $180 per session; $215 for the initial intake. Contact Tracey to verify your specific benefits before scheduling. If your plan isn't listed, you may still have out-of-network benefits — Tracey provides a superbill after each session. Learn how out-of-network coverage works →
OCD Is Treatable. ERP Works.
Schedule a free 15-minute call to talk through what you're dealing with and whether this approach makes sense for you. You can ask about the treatment, the process, or anything else, before committing to anything.
Schedule a Free ConsultationAetna · NC State Health Plan · BCBS · Telehealth · North Carolina