Alyssa Lentz

I've always wanted to be in a helping profession. I knew that since I was a little girl, when I saw family members struggle with mental health and addiction. I didn't know what counseling was back then. In college, I found a counseling program that led me to really want to do therapy.

I have personal lived experience with OCD. My experiences, and knowing how misunderstood it is, gave me a passion for educating people about OCD and treating people who have struggled with it, been misdiagnosed, or received talk therapy that's not effective for OCD. The most gratifying part of my job is when ERP starts working, and people start to have freedom from OCD—they start to have the upper hand and realize they don't have to live life by the rules OCD imposes on them.

I've had experience with trauma, addiction, and anxiety disorders. I've worked with more severe and persistent mental illness in clinical study. I've also worked in a prison setting.

If you've been to traditional therapy, OCD therapy might seem quite foreign to you. It might sound weird and be uncomfortable at first, but it's incredibly effective. It almost feels like magic once you do it and see the progress that can happen pretty quickly.

You don't have to share them right away. You can share it as you become comfortable. We don't have to dive into the scary thoughts immediately. Just know there's no judgment. In fact, I've probably experienced the thought myself, so I totally understand where you're coming from.