Brooks Canaday (he/him)

OCD is not an adjective, and it is far more than appreciating cleanliness or order: OCD means experiencing repetitive and disturbing intrusive thoughts that can shake your sense of self and cast doubt on everything you think you know. It’s no wonder that you want relief and engage in neutralizing compulsions, though these only help in the short term. OCD can feel like spiraling into a black hole, but I want you to know that it can get better. I know OCD is tough, but I believe you’re tougher.

Since we were boys, most of us have been surrounded by distorted ideas of what it means to be a man. These can lead to being cut off from our own emotions, feeling burdened by impossible or inauthentic expectations, and believing that it’s somehow a weakness to care about our mental wellbeing and the things that make us unique. I offer a place to work through the rigid labels and unhealthy beliefs about manhood that are holding you back from connecting authentically with yourself and others.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is currently the gold standard for the treatment of OCD. I take a structured approach to help you gradually face and habituate to distressing obsessions and intrusive thoughts without engaging in compulsions or escape behaviors. This intentional and head-on process can help reduce the distress of obsessions and the time and energy taken up by compulsions. ERP is challenging, but relief from OCD is well worth it, and I believe you're up to it.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) recognizes that we sometimes need to adjust the lenses through which we see ourselves, others, and the world. Most of us fall into patterns of unhelpful or distorted thinking that come to feel natural; I use specific CBT interventions to help you interrupt these unhealthy thinking cycles and refocus your lenses to see yourself, others, and the world in more helpful and realistic ways.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a powerful approach to mindfully facing and responding to distressing or overwhelming experiences, and by doing so, reducing their impact on your wellbeing. ACT also integrates personal values to help guide meaningful action and change and move you towards your goals. I firmly believe that ACT can be a transformative approach to life, well beyond helping to better manage mental health concerns.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a powerful approach to mindfully facing and responding to distressing or overwhelming experiences, and by doing so, reducing their impact on your wellbeing. ACT also integrates personal values to help guide meaningful action and change and move you towards your goals. I firmly believe that ACT can be a transformative approach to life, well beyond helping to better manage mental health concerns.

I specialize in working with people who want to disrupt their problematic relationship with pornography, an issue that many face but few discuss. Through shifting your perspective on pornography, making behavioral changes, and developing alternative ways to self-regulate, you can live a life free from pornography use.

OCD is frequently misdiagnosed and often misunderstood- it is far more than being a "neat freak" or liking things to be clean. I specialize in helping people who deal with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) to reduce the impact of obsessions and compulsions on living a values-aligned life. I am trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold-standard in OCD treatment, and integrate aspects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to make this treatment even more impactful.