Guest Blog Post: ERP vs. ACT for OCD with Brittany Webb
I’m Brittany Webb. I am not just a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), I am the founder of a mental health therapy group practice called Better Minds Counseling & Services. I specialize in treating anxiety disorders and OCD in adults. My goal is to help clients know they are not alone, as it can take on average up to 17 years to receive a formal OCD diagnosis - it is truly a silent diagnosis that keeps folks stuck in it’s vicious, sticky, and doubting trap.
ERP vs. ACT for OCD: What’s the Difference, and Why Do They Work So Well Together?
If you’ve been exploring therapy for OCD, you’ve probably heard two terms come up over and over again: ERP and ACT. They sound technical, but together they form one of the most effective ways to treat OCD, and they’re much more human than they seem.
What is ERP?
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a specific therapy that helps you gradually face the situations, thoughts, or feelings that trigger your obsessions without performing compulsions or those behaviors that temporarily eases the anxiety.
Exposure means approaching something that brings up anxiety or uncertainty.
Response Prevention means resisting the compulsive behavior (mental or physical) that temporarily reduces that anxiety.
ERP retrains the brain to learn, “I can handle this feeling, and I don’t need compulsions to be safe.” I like to think of ERP as regaining your confidence back when you are encountering your obsessions.
What is ACT?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps you build a different relationship with intrusive thoughts. Instead of arguing with them or trying to make them go away, ACT teaches skills like:
Acceptance: allowing a thought or emotion to be present without fighting it
Defusion: noticing thoughts as thoughts, and not truths or emergencies
Values: identifying what actually matters to you and taking steps toward it
ACT reduces the mental struggle with OCD and helps you live a life guided by your values, not by fear.
Why ERP and ACT Work Beautifully Together
OCD treatment is strongest when both approaches are blended. ERP gives you the behavioral change your brain needs, while ACT helps you tolerate uncertainty, sit with discomfort, and stop giving intrusive thoughts so much authority.
Together, they help you:
Understand your thoughts differently
Reduce compulsions and rituals
Handle anxiety with more confidence
Build a life that feels meaningful, not dictated by OCD’s rules
In ERP, you practice facing discomfort. In ACT, you learn how to relate to that discomfort with openness instead of panic. Think of ERP as the “what to do,” and ACT as the “how to carry yourself while doing it.”
If you're considering treatment for OCD, know that these approaches are well-researched, widely used, and deeply empowering. With the right therapist, you won’t just learn skills; you’ll learn how to get your life back from OCD, one step at a time.
About Brittany Webb
If you’d like to learn more about how my practice can help you, you can contact me here:
Email: info@betterminds-counseling.com
Website: www.bettermindscounseling-services.com
Instgram: @bettermindscounseling