Ashley Ward

I was super resistant to the idea of ERP early on. I had read about the high dropout rate and how stressful it could be. When I was getting setup with NOCD the customer service people gave absolutely out of pocket examples of the activities I might be doing—like putting my hand in a toilet and then eating a granola bar without washing my hands first. WHAT?! I started this therapy with the intention of quitting pretty early on. But I knew I had to try because it wasn’t fair to myself or the people in my life to not at least try to get better. Ashley made the entire process reasonable and effective. Nothing that I did was “ out there” but rather dove into the fear that I already dealt with everyday and addressed it head on. During session I would read articles or watch shows about people getting sick or hurt, drive my car or write out the worst case scenarios I had had floating around in my head for months. There were no hands in toilets or granola bars. It was all REASONABLE. It got me to the level where I could live my life more or less like a “ normal person.” We dealt with what I had already been dealing with for years, just in a structured approach that did work for me. One thing that I think kept me going during the process early on was Ashley’s confidence. She was confident that she could help me and it helped me feel confident that I could be helped and things would get better. And they did! She works in a structured way. She is smart, focused, relatable, capable and caring but not “ mushy” which I appreciated. It felt like we were really doing work in the sessions, not like I was just paying someone to listen like it felt with previous therapists. ( I’m sure there’s some value in that for some people but for ocd you really need to do the WORK— idk why the program works but it does). Early on I really thought I had to get to the “root” of my ocd ( was it because of some awful experiences I had? Was it genetic? Was it cuz I grew up catholic and that gives a lot of guilt and anxiety?) but it turns out you really just need to go through the ERP and you’ll feel and see when it’s working. Intrusive thoughts decrease, behaviors decrease and you get your life back for the most part. I was surprised at how much progress I made with her truly. My insurance also does take this app surprisingly so be sure to check if yours does! I am so grateful for her REASONABLE, calculated, compassionate yet no-nonsense approach to this whole thing.

Would have preferred sooner appt and sooner upcoming appts

Ashley has created a very safe place for my son, but also pushes him to set goals and get uncomfortable. He said he felt better today just being able to verbalize some of the things that have been bothering him.