When you’re dealing with a complex and widely misunderstood condition like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you deserve—and need—a therapist who’s truly qualified to help you get better. But not every therapist is equipped to handle the complexities of OCD, especially when it comes to the more stigmatized and misunderstood symptoms.
That’s why at NOCD, we invest heavily in making sure our therapists are fully prepared to meet the unique needs of the OCD community. Each NOCD Therapist is required to go through a selective hiring process, complete specialized training with leading OCD experts, and pass rigorous evaluations before working with our members. This way, you can start therapy feeling confident that your therapist understands what you’re going through and has the skills to guide you through it with exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective treatment known for OCD.
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of what it takes to become a NOCD Therapist, and how our extensive vetting process makes sure our therapists have the expertise, empathy, and knowledge needed to help you take your life back.
NOCD Therapists have to meet the exceptionally high standards of our hiring process
Before a therapist ever starts working with our members they go through a detailed interview process with multiple people from NOCD, including at least one of our clinical leaders, who are world-renowned experts in OCD. First, each candidate is screened for the qualifications required to enter our training program. All NOCD Therapists must be either masters- or Ph.D.-level clinicians and have a license showing they’ve achieved the credentials to practice therapy in their state.
But having an advanced degree and a license alone isn’t enough. Next, our team confirms if a candidate has significant experience with one-on-one therapy, which not all licensed clinicians do.
Then we dig deeper to figure out if they have qualities that make a great therapist—because delivering effective OCD treatment requires building a strong bond. Our clinical leaders spend time getting to know each candidate and seeing if they’re genuinely empathic, culturally aware, and able to build trusting relationships with people of all backgrounds.
During the interview, every potential therapist is evaluated on how they respond to the taboo intrusive thoughts, images, and urges that our members often share during their sessions. If there’s even a hint of bias or stigma in their answer, they’re immediately disqualified. We want our therapists to create a safe, non-judgmental environment where you can share anything, and to be confident in their ability to handle any situation that might come up during your sessions.
We also look for therapists who are committed to collaborating with our expert clinical leaders because we know that OCD is complex and in some nuanced and severe cases, it can be important for a therapist to have the support and mentorship of one of our clinical leaders to deliver the most effective care.
These are all baseline requirements to begin training in the treatment of a serious and widely misunderstood condition like OCD. We perform regular quality checks, or “peer audits,” of this process, in which another clinical leader at NOCD reviews a transcript of the entire interview to confirm that a candidate is qualified to enter our training program. Only the best make it through our interview process, receive an offer, and begin training to join the NOCD Network.
NOCD Therapists receive intensive training from world-renowned OCD experts
Once a therapist has accepted an offer to join our team, they dive right into the next stage of our onboarding process: an intensive training program that teaches them everything they need to know about OCD, and how to help you break free from its grip.
Since many of us know what it’s like to have OCD symptoms be misunderstood or improperly treated, our therapists’ training isn’t something we take lightly. We meticulously developed every aspect of our training program in-house so our therapists can give you a drastically different experience. We also chose to cover the cost of our therapists’ training so they don’t have to find and pay for less extensive training on their own—a common struggle for therapists who want to specialize in OCD. This way, we can make sure their education is as rigorous and comprehensive as it needs to be for them to help you get better.
The experts who created our training program and continue to lead it today are the NOCD Clinical Leadership Team, a group of distinguished clinicians and researchers who’ve dedicated their careers to helping people conquer OCD. Drawing from their decades of experience treating OCD, developing multiple successful OCD treatment programs, and performing cutting-edge research, they developed a curriculum that’s become known for its depth and quality.
Here’s what NOCD Therapists’ training includes:
- Accurately identifying and diagnosing OCD: We make sure our therapists are deeply trained in all of the intricacies of OCD—its many subtypes, its taboo and stigmatized symptoms, and how it affects you.
- Effectively treating OCD with ERP therapy: As mentioned earlier, NOCD Therapists receive an in-depth education in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective treatment known for OCD. Our therapists learn how to create a personalized treatment plan, guide you through exposures, teach response prevention strategies, and use the NOCD platform—which includes effective virtual therapy and powerful in-app support—to make your treatment experience more effective.
- Properly treating related and co-occurring conditions: To truly meet the needs of the OCD community, our therapists are equipped to assess and treat the related conditions and co-occurring conditions that often accompany OCD.
- Providing personalized and inclusive care: Our therapists learn how to tailor treatment to your specific life stage, integrate your culture into your care, support your loved ones, and help them effectively support you.
By the time a NOCD Therapist has completed our three-month training program, they’ve spent hundreds of hours learning about OCD from NOCD’s in-house experts, shaping them into a ultra-qualified professional capable of guiding you to life-changing results. You can read more about our extensive therapist training here.
Get your life back from OCD
NOCD Therapists are required to pass rigorous evaluations before working with you
Our high standards don’t stop at training. After they’ve been onboarded, NOCD Therapists are thoroughly tested in a series of Clinical Advising Meetings (CAMs) to prove they’re truly ready to support you. Only those who pass this rigorous evaluation process can begin treating OCD.
During CAMs, prospective NOCD Therapists take multiple exams that test whether they’ve completely retained everything from their training and, most importantly, whether they can apply their knowledge in real therapy sessions. They run through mock therapy sessions with NOCD Clinical Leaders and answer questions on a variety of topics, from treating OCD in marginalized communities to creating a safe space for individuals dealing with taboo intrusive thoughts.
If they pass these rigorous tests—and our process for verifying each therapist’s background, education, and licenses, which is accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)—then they’re finally able to start working with NOCD Members.
We continue to support NOCD Therapists throughout their time in practice by providing routine evaluations, continuous training, and consistent oversight. Therapists are required to regularly attend consultation groups with our clinical leaders to review diagnoses and the treatment approaches being used with our members. Our clinical leaders also meet individually with each therapist, using the outcomes of our members and feedback from member reviews to help them identify areas for continued growth. These meetings also give therapists a space to discuss where they need support and guidance.
With this continuous education, evaluation, and oversight, our therapists are always learning, improving, and becoming even better at helping people reclaim their lives from OCD.
What the NOCD Therapist vetting process means for you
When you’re seeking treatment for a condition as debilitating, stigmatized, and isolating as OCD, the last thing you need is to be second-guessing whether your symptoms will be understood or whether your therapist will know how to help you get better. We extensively vet, train, and test every NOCD Therapist to take those concerns out of the equation.
This way, you can feel confident that the therapist you’re matched with is highly qualified, equipped with the tools and knowledge to understand exactly what you’re going through and help you gain control over OCD.
You can book a free 15-minute call with our team to find out more about starting treatment with a NOCD Therapist. We accept many major insurance plans to help make treatment more affordable, and during your call with us, we can discuss your options, answer any questions you have, and match you with a licensed OCD-specialty therapist so you can start reclaiming your life.
If you’re a provider passionate about making a difference in the lives of people struggling with OCD and are interested in joining our network, we encourage you to learn more and apply here.