Every person, no matter where they’re located in the U.S., is likely to struggle with their mental health at one point or another. On the West Coast, millions of people struggle with a mental health condition. In 2022, it was reported that 1 in 7 California residents experienced a mental health condition. With Los Angeles being the second-most-populated city in the U.S., thousands of people in the City of Angels are living with symptoms of common conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is categorized under “Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders” in the DSM-5-TR. This disorder consists of obsessions and compulsions that can impact a person’s overall quality of life. Obsessions refer to unwanted and repeated thoughts or images that cause anxiety. Compulsions are repeated behaviors that a person feels compelled to perform in hopes of alleviating that anxiety, though they may not always be logically related to the obsessions. Compulsions may sometimes be ritualistic behaviors that don’t realistically prevent the feared event.

Treatment plays a vital role in managing OCD, as the right tools and support can help reduce the obsessions and compulsions on a day-to-day basis. OCD is often treated with a combination of medication and therapy. But how do you know you’re choosing the right provider? That’s what we’re here to talk about.

We’ll discuss a few things that you should consider when looking for OCD treatment in Los Angeles.

4 factors to consider when seeking OCD treatment in Los Angeles

Your mental health is one area where you should never settle. While you’re exploring treatment options in Los Angeles, it’s important that you don’t just choose the first one that comes up on Google. By keeping a few important factors in mind, you can create a little checklist to guide you. These can work as contributing factors for your decision:

• Right level of care — The severity of OCD symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people can experience the improvement they need with regular outpatient therapy sessions. Other people may have severe symptoms that are interfering with their productivity and daily responsibilities, which may require a more intensive level of care, such as a Partial Hospitalization Program or Residential Treatment Center. You can talk to your doctor, who can point you in the right direction based on your needs.

• Insurance — It’s no secret that finances often get in the way of people receiving the care they need. Talk to your insurance provider about the type of coverage that you have for mental health treatment. If you don’t currently have health insurance, check the FAQ section for a prospective provider to see if they offer self-pay or payment plans.
• Personalized plans — Every person has their own mental health challenges, needs and goals for treatment. That’s why it’s essential that your chosen provider emphasizes the importance of personalizing the care for every client. No treatment should be “copy and paste,” especially when the symptoms of OCD can vary widely based on the subtype.
• Varied approaches — Branching off the previous point is the importance of making sure you choose a treatment provider who has experience with a variety of therapy approaches. OCD can come in the form of so many different subtypes, from contamination to relationship OCD. It’s important that they’re able to tailor their approach to your specific symptoms. Exposure and response prevention can be beneficial for contamination OCD, while cognitive behavioral therapy may be the first course of action for people with relationship OCD.

Lightfully has the OCD treatment you’re looking for in Los Angeles

With such a densely populated city, Los Angeles has plenty to offer for people who want to alleviate their mental health conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. But that doesn’t mean that every treatment provider will work for you.

At Lightfully Behavioral Health, we pride ourselves on checking every box that you’re looking for. We stand out from the crowd by providing personalized, holistic treatment to help you reach your current mental health goals, as well as the long-term goals that you’re aspiring to.

Our Precision Care Model can help treat OCD symptoms by focusing on the four core processes that drive your symptoms:

• Difficulty with emotions
• Difficulty with thoughts
• Difficulty with relationships 
• Difficulty with behaviors

We use integrated interventions that draw from different evidence-based therapeutic approaches, including:

• Arousal reduction
• Values clarification 
• Motivational enhancement

At Lightfully, we have four levels of care for your OCD treatment in LA: Residential Treatment, Virtual Intensive Outpatient Program (vIOP), Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). Everything we do consists of evidence-based, clearly defined, data-driven and whole-person-centered care.

Our LA locations are:

• Brentwood — Residential Treatment Center
• Santa Monica — Residential Treatment Center
• Westwood — PHP/IOP

Change is possible. When you’re ready to take the first step, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team. We’ll take the next steps together, toward the fullest, brightest version of you.