Ian O'Brien: OCD Story, and research on why people struggle to engage with ERP using over 100 interviews from The OCD Stories podcast (#509)

The OCD Stories

Stuart

Bdd, Health & Fitness, Recovery, Hocd, Cocd, Rocd, Bodydysmorphicdisorder, Ocd, Anxiety, Obsessivecompulsivedisorder, Mental Health, Help, Mentalhealth, Depression, Advice

4.8 • 873 Ratings

🗓️ 26 October 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In episode 509 I chat with Ian O'Brien. Ian is a psychotherapist based in Dublin, Ireland, who specialises in OCD.

We discuss his OCD story including relationship OCD (rOCD) and pOCD, getting therapy, support groups, and becoming a therapist. We then discuss his research on why people struggle to engage with ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) in which he analysed over 100 interviews from The OCD Stories podcast to explore the real challenges people face in starting, sticking with, or completing ERP. He shares the three major themes that emerged where people struggled with ERP including lots of sub themes, and suggestions for improvements in ERP, and much more. Hope it helps.

Show notes: https://theocdstories.com/episode/ian-509

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to The OCD Stories podcast, hosted by me, Stuart Ralph.
0:05.5	The OCD Stories is a podcast dedicated to raising awareness and understanding around obsessive,
0:11.1	compulsive symptoms. I do this for interviewing inspired therapists, psychologists, and people
0:16.8	who have experienced OCD. Welcome to the OCD Stories.
0:21.4	And welcome to episode 509 of the OCD Stories podcast. And in this one, I chat with Ian O'Brien.
0:28.4	Ian is a psychotherapist who specializes in OCD based in Dublin, Ireland. We discuss his
0:34.7	OCD, including relationship OCD and paedophile-themed OCD, getting therapy, support groups and becoming a therapist.
0:43.4	We then discussed his research, which was on why people struggle to engage with ERP, in which he analysed over 100 interviews from the OCD stories podcast to explore the real challenges people face in
0:56.0	starting sticking with and completing ERP. He shares the three major themes that emerged,
1:01.8	where people struggled with ERP, including lots of sub-themes and suggestions for improvements
1:06.6	in ERP and much more. So it's really cool to see Ian use the data from the podcast, which is obviously
1:14.8	in the public domain and he anonymized it all. But it's, yeah, it's great to get him to take all those
1:22.2	brave stories that were shared and create research out of it. And he's trying to get it published
1:26.6	at the minute.
1:29.7	And thanks to our podcast partners, NoCD.
1:33.9	If OCD is interfering with your life, NoCD can help.
1:38.6	They're licensed therapists, specialise in exposure and response prevention therapy,
1:40.7	the most proven therapy for OCD.
1:46.6	With NoCD, effective treatment that is 100% virtual is available for children and adults with OCD. And most members can get started within seven days on average. No hassle, just real,
1:52.5	science-backed help and support between sessions. Begin your journey at nocd.com or I'll put the link in the
1:59.3	episode description. So thank you to Ian for his story and sharing his research.
2:04.4	I found it really interesting and actionable.
	...

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