
	Specializing in Telephone and Online Therapy for the Treatment of OCD and Related Anxiety Conditions

Telephone and Online Therapy for OCD and Anxiety

Unfortunately, there are very few therapists who fully understand and know how to appropriately treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related anxiety based conditions using Cognitive Behavoral Therapy (CBT). As a result of this, we receive many calls and emails each week from individuals across the US and in many other countries who are unable to find qualified care near their homes.

Because of this dearth of OCD and anxiety specialists, the OCD Center of Los Angeles offers distance therapy options to individuals throughout California, as well as residents of most other countries. In addition to our standard office-based individual and group therapy programs, we offer both telephone and online therapy for the treatment of the following conditions:

• OCD

• Pure Obsessional OCD (Pure O)

• Perinatal / Postpartum OCD

• Child / Adolescent OCD

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

• Hypochondria / Health Anxiety

• Phobias

• Panic Disorder

• Social Anxiety / Social Phobia

• Trichotillomania

• Dermatillomania / Compulsive Skin Picking

• Olfactory Reference Syndrome

All therapy suites at the OCD Center of Los Angeles are equipped with state-of-the-art computers and web cameras which allow our online therapy clients to visually interact with our staff therapists in real time, while modern encryption technology ensures their confidentiality and privacy. For those who need distance therapy, but are not comfortable with online therapy, we are able to utilize telephone therapy in order to to ensure your comfort.

Telephone and online counseling are ideally suited to people in the following situations:

Clients who have a physical condition which limits their mobility.
Clients with psychological conditions which restrict travel.
Clients who live in areas distant from our offices who are unable to find specialized care near their home.
Existing clients who are are traveling and are unable to attend regularly scheduled sessions in our offices.
Existing clients who experience a sudden, unexpected scheduling conflict that precludes them from being able to attend a previously scheduled appointment.
Those with extremely busy work schedules who would not otherwise be able to regularly come to our offices for treatment.
Pregnant women or new moms who would otherwise find it very difficult to regularly attend therapy

Our telephone and online therapy programs for OCD and related anxiety based conditions use the same treatment protocol as our traditional office-based counseling program. All of our treatment programs focus on using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which has consistently been found by numerous research studies to be the most effective treatment for OCD and related anxiety based conditions. Among the CBT techniques we use are "Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (MBCBT), and Habit Reversal Training (HRT).

Clients participating in our telephone or online therapy programs receive a full clinical assessment, and meet for weekly scheduled telephone and/or online therapy sessions with one of our four professional staff therapists. All telephone and online therapy clients receive a treatment manual during their assessment session, and a second advanced manual approximately one month into their course of therapy. Our telephone and online therapy clients always have the option of coming to our office for treatment if they decide that they would prefer face-to-face therapy, or if they are visiting Los Angeles.

Effectiveness of Telephone and Online Therapy

When initially considering telephone or online therapy for OCD and anxiety, many clients may at first question the efficacy of psychotherapy conducted via these non-traditional methods. While this is certainly a reasonable concern, a brief internet search will uncover literally hundreds of research studies supporting the use of telephone and internet-based treatment for such varied conditions as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, Phobias, and others. For example:

A 2006 study at the University of Michigan found webcam-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to be consistently successful for the treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Additionally, all study participants reported having a strong therapeutic alliance with their treatment provider, and a uniformly high level of satisfaction with the treatment.

A 2000 study at the University of Quebec in Canada found significant improvement in study participants who received Cognitive Behavioral Therapy via webcam for Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia. Furthermore, researchers found that most participants reported that they established a strong therapeutic alliance with their therapist within one session.

And a 2010 study at the renowned Karolinska Institute in Sweden found that clients receiving online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Panic Disorder improved as much as those receiving traditional office-based CBT. Study participants reported that their improvement was strong following treatment, and that it remained strong six months later.

Legality of Telephone and Online Therapy

Some people also worry about the legality of telephone and online therapy. It is important to emphasize that the State of California initially authorized telemedicine in 1997, and formally extended that law in 2000 to specifically include telephone and online therapy provided by psychologists, marriage and family therapists, and social workers. Current California law explicitly allows for both telephone and online therapy, and further mandates that all telephone and online therapy clients receive and sign a "Teletherapy Informed Consent" agreement prior to treatment. The OCD Center of Los Angeles provides all telephone and online therapy clients with a copy of this agreement, and its parameters are fully discussed with clients prior to initiating therapy.

The issue of providing telephone and online counseling to clients in other US states and in other countries is more complicated. All staff therapists at the OCD Center of Los Angeles are licensed or registered to practice in the State of California. In terms of providing counseling to residents of other US states, the key issue is the law of the state in which the client lives. While there are currently no applicable federal or California state laws explicitly regulating or prohibiting teletherapy across state lines, every state in the US has its own specific laws regulating the practice of psychotherapy. In every US state, those laws limit the practice of psychotherapy to clinicians licensed and/or registered in that specific state. As a result of these state legal issues, the OCD Center of Los Angeles does not provide telephone or online counseling to US clients residing in any state except California.

Telephone and Online Therapy For International Clients

While the OCD Center of Los Angeles does not offer telephone or online counseling to US residents in any state except California, treatment of clients living in countries other than the US is less restricted legally. The great majority of countries do not regulate the practice of counseling and/or psychotherapy. As such, our staff therapists may legally treat clients in many countries, including the following:

Canada
United Kingdom
Ireland
Australia
New Zealand

South Africa
Israel
France
Germany
Belgium

Denmark
Greece
Norway
Portugal
Spain

Additionally, many other countries which are not listed above have no regulations restricting counseling and psychotherapy. If you live outside the US, and would like to to further discuss telephone or online therapy options available to you through the center, please call us at (310) 824-5200, or email us at director@ocdla.com.

If you live in a US state other than California, please note that some states provide temporary licenses which allow our staff therapists to provide telephone or online counseling to residents of those states. However, we do not have the administrative staff to investigate provisions for temporary licensure in other US states. If you are aware of laws in your state that allow for temporary licensure, and would like to seek telephone or online therapy with any of our staff therapists, please email us at director@ocdla.com.

About the OCD Center of Los Angeles

The OCD Center of Los Angeles is a private, outpatient clinic specializing in the treatment of OCD and related conditions. We have four therapists on staff, all of whom specialize in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related anxiety based conditions. We treat adults, adolescents, and children, and offer services six days a week, including evening and Saturday appointments. You can learn more about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), related anxiety based conditions we treat, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), our center, and our approach to treatment on our website at www.ocdla.com.

If you would like more information regarding telephone or online therapy, or would like to discuss individual therapy, group therapy, or intensive treatment at the OCD Center of Los Angeles, you can call us at (310) 824-5200, or click here to email us.

Call or email the OCD Center of Los Angeles

Please note that the OCD Center of Los Angeles only offers telephone and online therapy for the following conditions: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Pure Obsessional OCD ("Pure O"), Perinatal / Postpartum OCD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Hypochondria (Health Anxiety), Social Anxiety (Social Phobia), Panic Disorder, Phobias, Trichotillomania (compulsive hair pulling), Dermatillomania (compulsive skin picking), Olfactory Reference Syndrome, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The only US state in which the OCD Center of Los Angeles offers telephone and online therapy is California. We also offer telephone and online counseling for OCD and related anxiety based conditions in the following countries: Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, and many other countries. Some individuals undergoing a course of telephone or online therapy for OCD or a related anxiety based condition may benefit from medication, and may therefore require a psychiatric evaluation. If a psychiatric evaluation is indicated, the OCD Center of Los Angeles may suggest or require that telephone and online therapy clients consult with a qualified psychiatrist and/or other MD in their local area.