Finding Help

Finding a trained professional

Finding the right psychologist is like finding your hairdresser; it takes time and persistence, and you might have some terrible hairstyles along the way, but once you meet your match it will all be worthwhile.

In our opinion, seeing a professional is an essential component to supporting people in their recovery journey with OCD.

They should support you to share, unpack, and challenge your OCD experiences in a helpful and non-judgmental way. For this experience to be helpful, it’s so important to find a practitioner that meets your needs and has experience in your areas of concern; be that a psychologist, psychiatrist, or counsellor. We would strongly encourage anybody with OCD to see a practitioner who has experience working with people who have OCD. This is to ensure you receive the right therapeutic interventions to treat OCD, and not generalised anxiety, as they can be very different.

Before you commit to a psychologist, make sure you ask them questions to ensure they can effectively treat OCD. They’re going to ask you a lot of questions, so don’t feel bad putting them in the hot seat! Here’s a list of questions you can ask your psychologist before ‘committing’ to them.

https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/five-questions-to-find-out-if-your-therapist-can-effectively-treat-ocd

It appears that it is currently very difficult to get in to see a psychologist (or even get on a waiting list). If this is your experience, please don’t give up and know that you are not alone. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, there has been a surge in demand for psychologists. If you’re told that a waiting list is full, ask when it will open up again and make a note in your calendar to call on that day. Alternatively, you can ask for a list of other therapists that they recommend. Visit our What to do if you can’t find help page for more info.

We’ve found a number of trained professionals who have experience treating people with OCD in Australia.

Disclosure: This list seeks to provide guidance for people trying to get help, you’ll need to do your own homework to ensure these trained professionals meet registration standards and that they’re the right fit for you.

Another great resource to help find a trained professional who has experience in treating OCD in Australia is ocd.org.au.

Where to next?

  • Victoria

    Clinical Psychologists

    • Areas of interest:

      • Anxiety, worry and perfectionism
      • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
      • Stress and burnout
      • Guilt and shame
      • Difficulties adjusting to life changes
      • Grief and loss
      • Emotional difficulties
      • Difficulties within relationships and self-identity
      • Depression

      Treatment approaches:

      • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (Exposure and Response Prevention)
      • Acceptance and commitment therapy
      • Emotion focused therapy
      • Schema therapy
      • Compassion focused therapy

    • Areas of interest:

      • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
      • Mood and Anxiety Disorders
      • Social and Generalised Anxiety
      • Post Traumatic Stress
      • Panic Attacks
      • Bipolar Disorder
      • Depression

    • Treatment approaches:

      • Cognitive behavioural therapy (exposure and response prevention)
      • Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
      • Virtual reality therapy

    • Areas of interest:

      • Predominately works with men
      • Sex therapy
      • Compulsive sexual behaviour
      • Works extensively in the LGBTI-Q+ community

      Treatment approaches:

      • Cynical Psychology
      • Clinical hypnotherapy

    • Areas of interest:

      • OCD
      • Anxiety
      • Depression
      • Personality disorders
      • Stress
      • Trauma
      • Body image

      Treatment approaches:

      • Cognitive behavioural therapy (exposure and response prevention)
      • Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
      • Schema therapy
      • Social and coping skills training

    • TeleHealth appointments available Australia wide, or in-person appointments in Camberwell, Victoria

      Areas of interest:
      • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
      • Phobias
      • Anxiety
      • Depression
      • Tics / Tourette syndrome
      • Postnatal difficulties
      Treatment approaches:
      • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
      • Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
      • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Mindfulness based therapy

    • Carlton, Victoria or via telehealth

      Areas of interest:

      • OCD
      • Perinatal difficulties
      • Anxiety
      • Depression
      • Stress
      • Panic
      • Grief & Loss

      Treatment approaches:

      • Cognitive behavioural therapy (exposure and response prevention)
      • Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
      • Mindfulness and solution focused therapy

    • Claire facilitates the OCD online program which includes online group therapy and carer support sessions.

      Areas of interest:

      • OCD and relates disorders (Hoarding disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Trichotillomania and Excoriation Disorder)
      • Parents with young children including pre and postnatal depression/anxiety
      • Issues relating to ‘the self’ including identity, self concept and self esteem
      • Anxiety disorders
      • Perfectionism

      Treatment approaches:

      • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
      • Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP)

    • Many of the experienced psychologists at Melbourne Wellbeing Group specialise in OCD treatment. They offer treatment for children, teens and adults. They also offer group therapy for people with OCD.

      Areas of interest:

      • OCD
      • Anxiety & depression
      • Autism & Asperger’s
      • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
      • Eating disorders
      • Group programs for OCD (teens & adults)

      Treatment approaches:

      • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
      • Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP)
      • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
      • Play therapy
      • Parenting support

    • In person appointments in South Yarra, Victoria. Telehealth available

      Areas of interest:
      • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
      • Mood and Anxiety Disorders
      • Social and Generalised Anxiety
      • Post Traumatic Stress
      • Panic Attacks

    • Clinical Psychologist with a specialist interest in working with people living with mild to severe OCD.

      Telehealth available

      Sophie offers Outreach Sessions involving a clinician coming to your home, or meeting in the community to complete tasks for treatment

      Experience treating OCD and Anxiety disorders in:

      • Inpatient hospital settings
      • Private practice
      • Completed research into risk factors for developing OCD

      Treatment approaches:

      • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
      • Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP)
      • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

    • Director/Clinical psychologist based in Melbourne

      Telehealth services available Australia-wide

      Areas of interest:

      • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

      • Body Focussed Repetitive Behaviours (e.g. Trichotillomania- Hair Pulling and Excoriation Disorder- Skin Picking)

      • Hoarding Disorder

      • Anxiety & Phobias

      • Depression

      • Trauma & PTSD

      • Pain management

      • Self-development

      • Life transitions & adjustment issues

      • Assertiveness Training

      • Personality concerns & assessment

      • Relaxation & Stress management

      Treatment approaches:

      • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
      • Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
      • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
      • Schema Therapy (ST)
      • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
      • Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI)

    • Clinical psychologist working in East Melbourne, Victoria. In person and telehealth appointments available.

      Areas of interest:

      • OCD
      • Generalised Anxiety and Rumination
      • Social Anxiety
      • Panic Disorder
      • Major Mood Disorders
      • Psychotic Disorders

      Treatment approaches:

      • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
      • Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
      • Schema Therapy
      • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
      • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

    Low cost psychology

    Psychiatrists

    • Areas of interest:

      • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
      • Skin Picking
      • Trichotillomania
      • Perfectionism
      • Scrupulosity
      • Violent/Sexual Obsessions

      Treatment approaches:

      • Cognitive behavioural therapy (exposure and response prevention)
      • Prescribe Medication
      • Habit Reversal

      To find other specialised psychiatrists in Melbourne try this list from the Melbourne Clinic.

      Tip: We would also recommend giving your full treating team consent to chat to one another. It really helps having them all on the same page.

  • NSW

    Psychologists

    • Areas of interest:

      • Treating OCD in Adults

      Treatment Approaches:

      • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (with Exposure and Response Prevention)

    • Clinical Psychologist providing psychological therapy to individuals aged around 16 and above. Currently practicing in Surry Hills, Sydney for in person sessions and also using Telehealth to see clients Australia wide.

      Areas of interest:

      • obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
      • relationship or interpersonal issues and life transitions
      • health concerns
      • self-doubt
      • depression
      • anxiety and overthinking
      • difficulty regulating emotions

      Treatment approaches:

      • acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
      • schema therapy
      • cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT)
      • mindfulness and self-compassion based approaches
      • exposure and response prevention for OCD – (ERP)
      • aspects of dialectical behaviour therapy

  • ACT

    Psychologists

  • South Australia

    Psychologists

  • Queensland

    Psychologists

  • Western Australia

    Psychologists

  • Tasmania

    Psychologists

    • Areas of interest:

      • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

      Treatment approaches:

      • Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) combined with a meta-cognitive approach

    • Areas of interest:

      • Depression,
      • Anxiety
      • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
      • Chronic pain,
      • Anger,
      • Trauma
      • Phobias
      • Relationship discord

      Treatment approaches

      • Mindfulness-integrated Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (MiCBT)

  • Online self-help options

    • Developed by researchers at Curtin University, this is an online program for young people aged 12-18 with OCD. The program is designed to be undertaken over eight weeks and is based on the gold standard face-to-face OCD treatment. It provides information, activities, tips and support, not just for the young person but also their parents and caregivers.

    • This eight week online course is for Australian residents aged 18 years and over. Participants are given the choice to receive support from therapists throughout the course.

  • Intensive OCD Treatment Programs

    • While many people with OCD respond well to psychological and/or medical treatments, in some cases people will need more intensive treatment. Intensive treatment programs usually require people to stay as inpatients for a particular amount of time. They will most likely involve an interdisciplinary group of health professionals to provide comprehensive and individualised treatment plans in a supportive and structured environment.

      An intensive, or inpatient OCD program can sound scary and intense, but if this is what you need, think of it as a way to fast-track your recovery. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed by our OCD thoughts that everything else in life becomes too hard to deal with, and we need a rest. It is a really brave thing to decide to do, and it is NOTHING to be ashamed of.

      There are generally two kinds of intensive treatments available:

      Hospital stays

      Major public hospitals in Australia treat both voluntary and compulsory patients who might be in danger of harming themselves and who need immediate attention. The focus of this hospital stay will be to keep the patient safe and address the crisis so that they can then focus on the next steps of recovery and get them back on track.

      Residential treatment programs

      These are for people with an OCD diagnosis who are not in a crisis situation and who are committed to completing a program for a specified amount of time, often in a group setting. They typically take place in more of a home-like environment and the programs are delivered by highly experienced teams.

      In most cases, a referral from a doctor or psychiatrist is needed for admission into a Residential Treatment Program.

      Intensive treatment programs in Australia

      For more information about the services available in your state visit https://headtohelp.org.au/how-we-can-help/.

      Costs/Health cover

      If you’re thinking of booking in for an intensive treatment program it would be worth finding out:

      1. If you have private health insurance, find out whether your policy covers psychiatric care
      2. Ask the clinic/hospital what the out-of-pocket costs are
      3. Tip: if you have private health insurance and it doesn’t cover psychiatric admission (unless you have ‘gold cover’- go figure) there is a ‘once off waiver’ which enables you to skip the cooling off period when transitioning to a new fund for a psychiatric admission. Check this with your private health insurance if you think this applies to you.