Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is substantially misdiagnosed, leading to improper treatment, worsening of symptoms, and suicidality. Many providers are not trained on the intricacies of OCD and therefore usually misdiagnose clients with another type of anxiety disorder, depression, or psychosis. Too many clients spend years feeling even more distant or disgusted by themselves because they do not know why their obsessions and compulsions won’t leave, even with consistent therapy.

It’s important for both providers and clients to understand how OCD can present itself so they can catch it in its tracks and start OCD-specific treatment like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure Response Prevention (ERP).

At its heart, somatic therapy acknowledges that our physical and emotional experiences are deeply intertwined. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the mind-body connection as a key to therapeutic healing. By paying attention to how emotions manifest in the body, from tension in the shoulders to that fluttery feeling in the gut, we can unlock pathways to profound relief and self-awareness.

Somatic therapy is a type of psychotherapy that believes your body has its own language, and one that we need to listen to. Traditional talk therapy often focuses on your thoughts and feelings, but somatic therapy asks, "What’s your body trying to say?"

Managing symptoms is an essential part of therapy, but the deeper, transformative work involves identifying and healing the wound at its source. In psychology, there is frequent discussion about the “root cause” of distress. In this article, we explore where negative beliefs about ourselves and our symptoms might originate.

Healing emotional wounds requires understanding their origins and addressing the unmet needs that shaped negative beliefs about ourselves. By meeting these wounds with compassion and using evidence-based therapeutic approaches, it’s possible to create lasting change.