Yes, completing the self-screening tool is a necessary step before engaging in any of our therapy services, whether that’s an intensive program or regular weekly sessions. This tool gives us crucial insights into your current situation with OCD, helping us make an informed decision about the most suitable treatment option for you. It also aids in matching you with the therapist best equipped to meet your needs. Furthermore, this process ensures that our services are the right fit for you, as our primary goal is to provide meaningful support and effective treatment. We are committed to ensuring that we can genuinely assist each client on their journey to recovery.
Determining the most appropriate treatment option is a collaborative and informed process. When you get in touch, our trained administrative team will discuss your situation at a high level to help guide next steps and answer practical questions.
Final treatment recommendations are made following a clinical assessment, which allows us to fully understand your difficulties, goals, and needs. Our administrative team works closely with clinical leads to ensure that all guidance provided is consistent with our clinical approach and pathways of care.
Yes. All clients complete an assessment before starting therapy, regardless of the treatment option being considered. The purpose of the assessment is to understand your difficulties, discuss your goals, and determine whether our service — and which treatment option — is the right fit for you at this time.
The assessment also allows us to offer guidance or signposting where appropriate, helping to ensure that any treatment recommended is safe, appropriate, and clinically indicated.
Feeling overwhelmed by OCD is common, and experiencing high levels of distress does not automatically mean that treatment is not appropriate. Many people seek support during periods when symptoms feel particularly intense.
To ensure our treatment options are suitable for your needs, we use an assessment process that may include a consultation, self-screening information, and clinical discussion. This helps us understand your situation and determine whether our service — and which treatment option — is appropriate at that time.
If we feel that our programmes are not the best fit, we will discuss this with care and offer guidance or signposting to more suitable support. Our priority is always your safety and wellbeing, and helping you access the most appropriate care.
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If, following an assessment, we feel that our service is not the most appropriate option for you at that time, this will be discussed with care and transparency. Our priority is always to ensure you receive the right type of support.
Where appropriate, we will offer clinical guidance and signposting to alternative services or sources of support, based on the information discussed during the assessment. This is an important part of the assessment process itself.
As the purpose of an assessment is to evaluate suitability and provide professional guidance, assessment fees are not refundable, regardless of whether ongoing treatment with our service is recommended.
Being assessed as not suitable is not a judgement about you or your difficulties. It is a clinical decision made with your safety, wellbeing, and best interests in mind.
Yes. All of our therapists are appropriately trained and qualified to practise therapy in the UK, and are registered, accredited, or individual members of relevant professional bodies, such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP), the National Counselling Society (NCS), or the British Psychological Society (BPS).
What distinguishes our centre is that it was co-founded by clinicians who not only specialise in OCD but also have lived experience of the condition. This perspective informs how our service is designed, from initial contact and assessment through to therapist training and clinical decision-making.
Our approach combines evidence-based treatment for OCD with a careful understanding of how the condition is experienced in real life. This helps ensure that therapy is delivered with insight, sensitivity, and an awareness of common pitfalls that can occur when OCD is misunderstood or oversimplified.
Together, this allows us to offer a service that is clinically rigorous, ethically grounded, and informed by both professional expertise and genuine understanding of OCD.
No therapy service can guarantee specific outcomes. Everyone’s experience of OCD is different, and progress can vary depending on a range of factors.
What we can offer is a thoughtful, evidence-based approach to OCD treatment, delivered with clarity, honesty, and care. Our work is grounded in established therapeutic models and informed by specialist clinical experience, with the aim of giving clients the best possible conditions for meaningful progress.
Engagement with therapy is an important part of the process, and we encourage clients to approach treatment with openness and willingness to take part in the work involved. It’s also common to feel uncertain or apprehensive before starting therapy. Many people begin treatment without feeling fully “ready,” and this does not prevent therapy from being helpful.
Non-intensive therapy typically involves regular sessions, such as weekly or fortnightly appointments, allowing therapeutic work to take place gradually over time. This format can be helpful for many people and is often easier to balance alongside work, study, or other commitments.
Intensive therapy involves a higher concentration of sessions over a shorter period. This allows for more sustained focus on OCD and can be useful for people who feel stuck, are experiencing significant disruption, or would benefit from working more intensively within a defined timeframe.
Group intensive therapy also offers the opportunity to work alongside others with similar difficulties. For some people, this shared experience can reduce isolation and provide additional perspective and support, while still being guided by structured, evidence-based treatment.
The most appropriate option depends on individual needs, circumstances, and clinical considerations, and is discussed as part of the assessment process.
Yes. Our treatment approaches for OCD are grounded in evidence-based practice and delivered in line with NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines.
This includes recognised treatments such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), alongside other evidence-based approaches where appropriate. Our aim is to ensure that therapy is clinically informed, structured, and tailored to the individual, while remaining consistent with current best practice for OCD treatment.
Yes. ERP does not work for everyone, and this is not uncommon. In addition to ERP, we also offer Inference-Based CBT (I-CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which can be helpful for people who struggle with traditional ERP or experience high levels of doubt and rumination.
Where appropriate, trauma-informed talking therapy or limited family involvement may be used to support OCD treatment. Treatment recommendations are discussed during assessment.
We work with adolescents, where appropriate. Suitability is considered on an individual basis and depends on the young person’s needs, the treatment format, and clinician availability.
Not all of our therapists work with younger clients. Where we feel our service is not the most appropriate option, we will discuss this openly and offer guidance or signposting to more suitable support.
Yes. While our primary treatment focus is OCD, we recognise that trauma and complex trauma can often coexist with OCD and may influence how symptoms present or how treatment is experienced.
Where appropriate, we can integrate trauma-informed talking therapy and attachment-aware approaches to support OCD treatment. This work is used to help stabilise, contain, or clarify difficulties that may otherwise interfere with progress in OCD-focused therapy.
If trauma-related difficulties are the primary concern, or if the level of trauma makes an intensive format unsuitable, we may recommend starting with individual sessions rather than an intensive programme. These considerations are discussed during assessment to ensure that any recommended treatment is safe, appropriate, and well-matched to your needs.
Yes. Support is available for carers and family members of people with OCD.
In some cases, and with the client’s consent, it may be helpful for carers or family members to be involved in aspects of the therapeutic process. This is discussed on a case-by-case basis where it is clinically appropriate and supportive of the client’s treatment.
We also offer individual support for carers in their own right. To maintain confidentiality and clarity, this support would be provided by a different therapist from the one working with the person with OCD.
In addition, we provide resources for carers, including a downloadable carer-focused presentation available via our website, designed to help carers better understand OCD and supportive responses.
For individual therapy sessions, we offer several payment options, including bank transfer, payment by phone, and payment via PayPal or Stripe.
Payment must be received at least 48 hours before the session in order for it to go ahead. To make this process easier, clients are offered the option to store a card securely on file when booking their first session.
If you are using insurance and the session fee exceeds the amount covered by your policy, you will be responsible for paying the difference to ensure the full session fee is met.
Some of our therapists are registered with a range of insurance providers, and availability can vary depending on the insurer and the clinician involved.
If you are planning to use insurance, we recommend contacting our administrative team before booking. They can advise on current coverage, therapist availability, and any next steps needed to use your policy.
Yes. Confidentiality and privacy are core principles across all of our services, including initial enquiries, individual therapy sessions, and intensive treatment programmes. Information shared with us is treated with care and respect, and is normally kept confidential between you and your therapist.
There are, however, limited circumstances where confidentiality may need to be broken, such as if there is a serious risk of harm to you or others, or where we are legally required to share information. Any such situations are handled carefully and, wherever possible, discussed with you first.
Clinical records are stored securely using encrypted systems designed for psychological services, and we work in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and relevant professional standards. Our online platforms are selected to meet appropriate security and confidentiality requirements for clinical work.
Yes. For individual therapy sessions, we ask that cancellations or changes are made with at least 48 hours’ notice. If a session is cancelled with less than this notice, or if a client does not attend, the full session fee is payable.
Repeated late cancellations or non-attendance may lead us to review whether ongoing therapy is appropriate, as regular attendance is important for effective therapeutic work.
This policy helps ensure fair access to appointments and allows us to use clinical time responsibly in support of all clients.
To enquire about an intensive treatment programme, you can contact us by phone on 0333 090 1376, complete our contact form, or email info@ocdtreatmentcentre.com.
Availability for intensive treatment is limited and places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Where appropriate, a provisional place can be held for 24 hours. Full payment is required within this period to confirm the booking. If payment is not received within the agreed timeframe, the place may be released to another client.
This approach helps ensure clarity and fairness for all clients seeking intensive treatment.
All intensive treatment options include 16 hours of direct therapeutic contact.
Daily schedules vary by format:
• One-to-one intensives delivered by specialist therapists typically run from 09:30 to 14:30.
• One-to-one intensives delivered by Sharon Davies, Clinical Director, run from 09:30 to 13:30.
• Group intensive programmes led by Sharon Davies run from 09:30 to 14:00.
While daily schedules differ, the total contact time remains the same across all intensive options. Full details are shared clearly before booking.
The daily schedule for intensive treatment varies depending on the format and the clinician delivering the programme.
One-to-one intensives led by Clinical Director Sharon Davies typically run from 09:30 to 13:30. One-to-one intensives delivered by other therapists typically run from 09:30 to 14:30. Group intensive programmes led by Sharon Davies typically run from 09:30 to 14:00.
All intensive treatment options involve 16 hours of direct therapeutic contact, with breaks structured differently depending on the format and clinical approach.
Full details, including the structure of the programme, can be clarified with our administrative team before booking and are confirmed in the information provided once a place is secured.
Yes, we do offer payment plans for all our intensive treatment options through PayPal. It’s important to understand that once a payment plan is agreed upon, the full fee for the treatment is processed, and the contract for the repayment terms is directly with PayPal. This means that any outstanding balance is owed to PayPal under the terms of their payment plan agreement. This approach allows you to access our comprehensive treatment programs while managing payments in a way that might be more suitable for your financial situation.
In most cases, we recommend that clients attend intensive treatment independently, as this allows for greater focus and engagement with the therapeutic process.
That said, if you feel it would be helpful for a family member or companion to be involved in some way, this can be discussed on a case-by-case basis as part of the assessment and planning process, where it is clinically appropriate.
For group intensive programmes involving children or adolescents under 18, we recommend that one accompanying adult is present for the first part of the day to help the young person settle in and feel confident engaging with the group. While an adult can stay longer if clinically appropriate, we’ve found that short, supportive transitions often lead to better outcomes and a greater sense of autonomy for the child.
Yes. Although OCD can involve many different themes, the underlying processes that maintain the condition are highly consistent. These include patterns such as doubt, intolerance of uncertainty, threat-focused reasoning, reassurance-seeking, mental checking, and attempts to gain certainty or relief.
Group treatment focuses on these shared processes rather than on the specific content of thoughts. This means that people with very different OCD themes can work effectively together, without needing to share or compare personal details.
Sessions are carefully structured and facilitated to keep the focus on therapeutic processes that apply across OCD presentations. For many people, this approach helps reduce the sense that their OCD is “different” or harder to treat, while still allowing meaningful and individual progress.
After completing an intensive treatment programme, next steps are discussed on an individual basis. This may include recommendations for ongoing therapy, review sessions, or access to additional supportive resources, depending on your needs and goals.
For some clients, this may involve further one-to-one work or engagement with educational workshops designed to help consolidate learning from the intensive. Any follow-up support is discussed clearly and agreed before being arranged, rather than applied automatically.
Our aim is to support continuity of care in a way that is appropriate, realistic, and clinically guided.
These ongoing sessions are chargeable and designed to help you build on the progress made during your intensive, with focused support tailored to your goals.
Yes. Being on medication does not prevent you from starting therapy with us. We regularly work with people who are taking medication, as well as those who are not.
If you are attending an intensive treatment programme, you should continue taking any prescribed medication as directed and bring this with you if needed. We do not provide medical advice or make recommendations about medication changes. Any decisions about starting, stopping, or adjusting medication should always be discussed with your GP, psychiatrist, or another qualified medical professional.
Some clients choose to review their medication with a medical professional after therapy, but this is a separate process and is not something we advise or manage as part of treatment.
If you’d like to take the next step, please get in touch with us to begin the process. You can call 0333 090 1376, complete the form on our Contact Us page, or email info@ocdtreatmentcentre.com.
Our administrative team will guide you through the next steps, answer any practical questions, and help arrange an assessment where appropriate. This allows us to understand your needs and discuss the most suitable way forward.
We do not currently offer home-based therapy as a standard service. Most therapy is delivered online, through both standard one-to-one sessions and intensive treatment formats.
A limited number of in-person sessions and intensive treatments are available in Taunton, delivered by senior clinicians Craig Shirley and Sharon Davies. Availability for in-person work is restricted and offered on a case-by-case basis.
In addition to therapy, we run live online educational workshops covering key OCD-related topics. Further details about available services are shared clearly at the point of enquiry or booking.
