"I am on that road named recovery"

After suffering with OCD since I was a child and now with the added burden of depression, I was offered cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). I have to say from the time I was interviewed over the telephone to being seen - it was a really smooth and painless process and one that made me feel like everyone concerned wanted to help me.

After my initial interview to see if I was suitable for treatment, I was informed that the wait could be a long one given the waiting list however in the interim I was offered a really useful 4-week stress course which was very beneficial. I then had my appointment with a senior CBT therapist and she was really very good, knowledgable and empathetic and that was really good as I felt I was not a burden or a problem.

I had weekly appointments at times to suit me because I am in full time employment and my therapist set me very useful exercises that consolidated my sessions with her. I wish I could have had more sessions. Unfortunately my CBT therapist left and I was passed onto another colleague and although I was first concerned that my treatment would falter I was happy to have been proved wrong.

My male therapist was excellent and treated each session as if it was a classroom and focused on one particular issue and really got to the centre of what was going on in my brain. It was emotional and tapped into feelings and emotions I thought I was easily coping with as I had lived with OCD for over 30 years!

I dont think my therapist realised how life changing certain things he said were and how much of a positive impact they had on me. He would often ask me to come back the next evening so I would have 2 sessions a week because he wanted to build on the progress we were making. I am certainly far from cured but I am on that road named recovery which a year ago I would never have even considered possible and instead thought about no longer existing and lived everyday in a state of rituals, anxiety and catastrophising.

I am far from normal but Ealing IAPT made me realise that normal was not what was expected but just feeling like me without rituals and feeling happy was the goal.