Helping Latter-day Saints Reclaim Their Faith, Find Peace and Overcome Scrupulosity
Does your faith seem more of a source of anxiety than of peace?
You may sometimes feel unsure about your testimony, wondering if it’s strong enough to keep you on the covenant path or to prepare you for a mission. You might even hope that stepping away from the Church could bring relief from OCD or anxiety—while still deeply wanting to stay close to Heavenly Father. It’s natural to wish for a clear sign, a tender mercy or even something more spectacular, and to feel discouraged when it doesn’t come.
You care so much about doing what’s right that you worry your repentance isn’t “good enough,” leading you to meet with your bishop often for reassurance. You want nothing more than to be faithful, but, even though everyone around you tells you you’re totally fine, you are plagued by fears you’re not measuring up.
I can help.
Religious OCD Treatment
When scrupulousness feels overwhelming and even a little hopeless, it can be hard to see a way forward. The encouraging news is that healing is possible—research from the International OCD Foundation shows that about 70% of people with OCD experience real improvement with the right support and treatment. You are not alone, and there is hope for peace and relief.
ERP for OCD
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is an evidence-based therapy (often called the “gold standard” treatment for OCD) that helps people with OCD face their fears in a structured and supported way without getting stuck in compulsions. Step by step, it builds confidence, eases anxiety, and shows you that you’re stronger than the doubts and worries OCD brings. With support and patience, ERP can open the door to peace and freedom.
Inference-Based CBT (I-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for OCD that does not involve exposures. Instead, we explore the pre-existing fears that make triggers triggering. I-CBT helps you understand how you are using a different way of thinking for things related to your OCD than in every other aspect of your life and how this confused reasoning leads to compulsive behaviors that increase your anxiety. I-CBT helps you learn to trust yourself and to move away from OCD and towards what is real, good, and uplifting. With practice, it opens the way to greater peace, clarity, and trust in Heavenly Father’s guidance.
Inference-Based Cognitive Therapy (I-CBT)
SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions)
Parenting a child with OCD is complicated and, at times, counterintuitive. SPACE therapy helps parents understand the most effective ways to support children, including young adult children, with OCD and anxiety. It gives parents tools to respond to a child’s anxiety confidently and in ways that will help their child learn to manage their anxiety on their own. By learning to gently step back and move away from familiar patterns of accommodation and reassurance, you help your child grow stronger, braver, and more trusting in themselves and their abilities.
Have you struggled with feelings that you’re never good enough, that you’re not worthy, or that you might not be who everyone thinks you are?
It might not be a faith crisis or a moral failure–you might have scrupulosity.
Scrupulosity is a form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) characterized by excessive worry and guilt about moral or religious issues. Individuals with scrupulosity experience intrusive thoughts, often about sin, worthiness, morality, or even about their standing with Heavenly Father, when those who know them best say there is no real basis for these concerns. These anxieties about faith and morality lead to compulsive behaviors, such as rumination, confessing perceived transgressions and seeking reassurance from family and church leaders, and avoiding spiritual practices that were once edifying but are now triggering (including prayer, scripture study, and attending church meetings and the temple).
You probably struggle with other OCD themes in addition to scrupulosity: You may feel uneasy in your most important relationships, including whether you married the right person or if your spouse is disappointed in you and might leave at any moment. You may be afraid you will suddenly snap one day and hurt the people you love the most. You may have difficulty completing assignments for school or work because you are worried you may be cheating or doing something otherwise dishonest.
I want to help you learn how to manage your anxiety so that you can feel confident in the person you are and have the kind of relationship with Heavenly Father that you want.
