Being an OCD Therapist Who Also Has OCD: Holding Both Sides of the Room

By Allison Summer, LPC | Specializing in OCD & Eating Disorders

There is something unique about sitting across from someone whose brain speaks a language you personally know.

When I tell clients I specialize in OCD, I mean it clinically — the training, the supervision, the protocols, the evidence-based treatment. But I also mean it in a quieter way:

I know OCD from the inside, too.

It’s not always something therapists talk about openly. We’re often taught to keep our stories out of the room, to stay steady, to remain the anchor.

But the truth is:

Many therapists are also humans with living, breathing nervous systems.

Humans with their own histories.

Humans who have learned to coexist with the very things they help others navigate.

And for me, one of those things is OCD.

OCD Isn’t Just Something I Treat — It’s Something I Understand

OCD is so often misunderstood. It’s minimized into “I’m so OCD,” romanticized into quirks, or dismissed as overthinking.

But those of us who live with it know better.

We know:

✨ the intrusive thoughts that land like alarms

✨ the spirals that feel loud and urgent

✨ the mental rituals no one can see

✨ the fear that feels real even when our rational brain knows better

✨the exhaustion of fighting your own mind

As a therapist with OCD, I don’t just intellectually understand Exposure and Response Prevention.

I understand the fear of uncertainty.

I understand the urge to seek reassurance.

I understand how convincing OCD can be.

And I also understand what it means to do the work — to sit in discomfort, lean into uncertainty, and reclaim space from fear.

Being on Both Sides: The Strength and Responsibility

People sometimes assume having OCD automatically makes someone a better OCD therapist.

What I believe is this:

Having OCD doesn’t make me a better therapist.

Having empathy and respect for OCD sufferers does.

Living with OCD gives me a perspective — not superiority.

It lets me:

✨ sit with clients without judgment

✨ understand the nuance and subtlety of compulsions

✨ honor how brave ERP truly is

✨ recognize when shame is creeping in

✨ challenge OCD with compassion instead of harshness

But being a therapist also means I still hold boundaries.

I don’t make sessions about me.

I don’t use my story as a substitute for evidence-based treatment.

And I don’t assume that because I’ve experienced OCD, I fully understand anyone else’s.

Every person’s OCD is different.

Every journey is different.

Every brain writes its own version.

My job isn’t to say, “Me too.”

My job is to say, “You’re not alone — and we can face this.”

Healing While Helping Isn’t a Conflict — It’s a Commitment

There’s a misconception that therapists must be perfectly healed, regulated, and unaffected to do meaningful work.

But therapists are humans first.

Being an OCD therapist with OCD has actually deepened my commitment to this work.

Because I know:

✨ OCD is treatable

✨ fear doesn’t get the final say

✨ people deserve real tools and real hope

✨ recovery isn’t perfection — it’s freedom

And I also know something else:

You can support others and still deserve support yourself.

You can hold space for others and still need space held for you.

You can be a therapist and human at the same time.

If You’re Someone With OCD… This Is What I Want You To Know

You are not “too much.”

You are not broken.

You are not hopeless.

You are not alone.

Your intrusive thoughts do not define you.

Your compulsions do not represent your character.

Your fear doesn’t make you weak.

Your brain is doing what it learned to do to protect you — it just overlearned.

And you are capable of healing.

Not perfectly.

Not instantly.

But meaningfully.

Living with OCD Doesn’t Disqualify Me as a Therapist — It Reminds Me Why I Show Up

Every day, I sit with people who fight brave, invisible battles.

And every day, I am reminded:

OCD is loud, but you can become louder.

Fear is convincing, but it doesn’t get to run your life.

Uncertainty is uncomfortable, but it is survivable.

Being an OCD therapist with OCD doesn’t make me less capable.

It makes me deeply human.

It keeps me grounded in compassion.

And it reminds me how powerful this work really is.

Because helping people take their lives back from OCD?

That will never stop being meaningful.

And living my life alongside it?

That will never stop being proof of possibility.

Allison Summer

LPC | OCD & Eating Disorder Specialist

A Brighter Day Wellness