Understanding the diagnosis
More than a preference for order
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is often misunderstood as simply liking things neat. The reality is far more difficult. OCD involves obsessions (unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that cause real distress) and compulsions, the repetitive behaviors or mental acts a person feels driven to perform in order to relieve that distress.
The cycle can consume hours of the day and is rarely something a person can simply stop. Obsessions may center on contamination, harm, symmetry, unwanted taboo thoughts, or the need for certainty; compulsions may include washing, checking, counting, arranging, or seeking reassurance. Many people live with these symptoms for years before recognizing them as a treatable condition.
For adults in Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, and the surrounding Northeast Texas communities, a thorough psychiatric evaluation can name what has been happening and open the door to effective treatment.
A physician-led standard of care
How we approach OCD
Accurate diagnosis matters
OCD is frequently mistaken for ordinary anxiety, and the two can look similar on the surface. Distinguishing them, and recognizing related conditions, changes what treatment will actually work.
Our evaluation takes the time to understand the specific pattern of obsessions and compulsions rather than fitting the symptoms to a general label.
Evidence-based treatment
OCD responds to specific, well-studied treatments. A particular form of cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure and response prevention, is a cornerstone of care, and medication has a strong, established role, often at doses tailored to this condition.
When medication is appropriate, we explain the reasoning, monitor the patient's response carefully, and adjust deliberately toward durable improvement.
Seen by a psychiatrist
Every visit is with a physician who owns the practice, not a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) or physician assistant (PA) working under supervision.
OCD is often mistaken for ordinary anxiety and, as a result, under-recognized. A physician's diagnostic training helps tell obsessive-compulsive disorder apart from generalized anxiety and other conditions, so that care is aimed correctly from the start. Learn who provides your care.
Medication and therapy together
Because exposure and response prevention therapy is so central to OCD treatment, connecting patients with the right psychotherapy is an important part of how we approach care.
We do not provide talk therapy in-house, but when it is indicated we coordinate referrals to trusted local therapists, while the psychiatrist continues to manage the medical side of treatment.
What to expect
Starting care with us
Care begins with a thorough initial psychiatric evaluation that clarifies the diagnosis and reviews what has been tried before. Because OCD often responds best when medical care is paired with a specific, structured form of therapy called exposure and response prevention, follow-up visits focus on the medical side of treatment while referrals are coordinated to therapists trained in that approach.
We are a private, direct-pay practice and do not contract with insurance, which allows for longer visits and treatment decisions made without insurance intermediaries. Prospective patients can review our services and fees or begin a new patient request at any time. Every request is read and considered directly by our physicians.
Related conditions we treat