Christopher Straface

As a kid, I had difficulties with family issues. Through my church, I received a lot of help. I was a teenager when I received the help I needed, so I really wanted to focus on helping teenagers. I have a bachelor's in social work and master's in counseling. I worked with teens and families in the juvenile system and really enjoyed that. I realized a lot of people I was working with had anxiety, so I trained in that, along with depression and trauma. I love helping people make a difference in their lives in some way, if I can.

Originally, I didn't know much about OCD, nor did most people I knew. I met someone who worked for NOCD and learned more about it. I discovered that OCD is very common. Many people don't even realize they engage in compulsions. Now that I've been trained, I love treating it. When people get good help, it can be life changing.

I've worked largely with anxiety, depression, and trauma. I've also done work with trichotillomania and body focused repetitive behaviors. In my private practice, I've worked a lot with adjustment disorder, defiant teens, and parenting issues.

ERP is uncomfortable on purpose. It's supposed to be. Human nature is to avoid the things that make us uncomfortable. ERP is going to feel uncomfortable, because you're not avoiding the things you used to avoid. But if you can work through it, you'll actually find it very helpful. The analogy I use is that it's like physical therapy. If you have an injury, you have to go in and do some work. It's going to be uncomfortable. But if you do the homework, you will improve, and you'll be able to live with it.

That's OK. If you're hesitant to be completely open, that's normal. But nothing you're going to say would be surprising to me as a therapist. It's OK to share those things. I won't try to force you to share. I just want to encourage you to become comfortable enough to share. I think that can happen after just a few visits.