Benjamin Harris

As part of my graduate school training, I had to provide clinical services to students and community members under faculty supervision. Initially, I was terrified of the responsibility. Through exposure to the required training, I discovered I was a pretty decent therapist-in-training. When I had the opportunity to focus on OCD and anxiety-related disorders, I was hooked. The treatment made sense to me intuitively. I felt like I could help my clients reach their goals and get their lives back in a relatively brief period of time.

OCD has always clicked with me. As a child, I had obsessive compulsive tendencies (e.g., evening out, mental rituals, “just right”), so I find providing OCD treatment to be rewarding and energizing. I love helping people overcome something that's so nonsensical and disruptive to their lives.

I treat all of the OC-related disorders (BFRBs, tic disorders), and anxiety-related disorders such as panic disorder, agoraphobia, social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, and specific phobias. I fell in love with CBT and exposure therapy in graduate school. I love that these structured, problem-solving approaches help people see results in a relatively short period of time. I like being in problem-solving mode during my sessions, improvising and working through tough situations in the moment.

Trust the process. Have expectations, but make sure they're realistic. Understand that it takes time for therapy to have the desired effects. If we're doing good work at challenging OCD, things will feel a bit worse for a time before they start to feel better. This is a good thing, because it means we're putting OCD on the defensive. Be kind to yourself, and give yourself credit for your efforts. Don't get down on yourself if you think a particular session or ERP practice didn't go 'right'. Your hoped-for results will come with time and effort. Be patient and consistent, and ride the wave! You’ll get there.

Most people don’t feel comfortable sharing with a stranger. Know that I’ve been doing this for about 20 years, and I've heard just about every embarrassing, scary, uncomfortable, and “disgusting” thought you can imagine. If you're hesitant to share, just let me know. I’m not going to push you, but having a conversation and allowing yourself to ask questions can make it easier to share difficult information that will help propel you through your treatment.