Kelly Sansone

At first, I really wanted to work with children. I started as a school social worker and transitioned into administration along the way. I worked in the school system from 1998 until 2015, when I went into private practice because I wanted to go back to my roots—having a direct impact on people and helping them change their lives.

I have OCD myself. I've struggled with it for a long time—since I was eight. I've been doing really well now for 13 years. I share this with members because OCD can make you feel like you're not understood. You can feel really alone. And that can make it really difficult to cope when you're having an episode. OCD tries to take your joy from you. When I can see people become able to enjoy life without the torment, the obsessions, it makes me really happy.

I've worked with autism extensively. In people who have autism, OCD often goes hand in hand. My other main areas of experience are anxiety disorders, depression, school phobia, and emetophobia.

It's not easy. Understand that you're going to have feelings that don't feel good when you're doing exposure exercises. But it works quickly. If you put in the work, do your homework, and are willing to really engage in what I'm telling you, ERP works really well and really fast. I tell people to practice the exercises we come up with, and do what I've assigned for homework, several times a day, every day.

Know that OCD symptoms are usually strange, and people don't feel comfortable universally talking about them. That's OK. I get it. Based on my experience, there's never going to be an OCD symptom that's not 'weird'—by definition, an obsession causes distress. If these were nice things you were thinking about repeatedly, it wouldn't be a problem. Also know that I won't make you do anything. You can wait until you feel more comfortable to share those thoughts. But I will probably ask if there are any things you're comfortable enough to tell me right now to start.