ERP at home: build your own exposure plan | Is it OCD?
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A guided ERP plan

ERP at home

Working with an ERP-trained therapist is the gold standard for OCD. Not everyone has the resources or access to one yet, and you still deserve skills you can use today.

This guide walks you through building your own exposure and response prevention (ERP) plan, one step at a time. ERP has three parts:

ExposureFacing the thoughts, places, feelings or situations that make you anxious, on purpose.
Response preventionNot doing the compulsion. Compulsions bring quick relief, but they keep the anxiety coming back.
Self-compassionBeing kind to yourself while you do this. It helps you keep your progress.
  • 11 short steps, about 15 to 20 minutes
  • You can stop anytime. Your answers stay on this device so you can come back.
  • Private and free. Nothing you type is sent to us.
  • Ends with a plan you can save as a PDF, plus a practice log to use each time you do an exposure

How ERP breaks the OCD cycle

The OCD cycle
1TriggerA place, object, thought or feeling
2ObsessionAn unwanted thought, image or doubt
3AnxietyFear, guilt, disgust or “not right”
4CompulsionChecking, washing, asking, avoiding, reviewing
5Quick reliefIt feels better for a moment
The relief teaches your brain the compulsion “worked,” so the next obsession comes back stronger.
The cycle with ERP
1TriggerFaced on purpose, one small step at a time
2ObsessionYou let the thought be there
3AnxietyIt goes up. That’s expected.
4No compulsionYou don’t check, ask, wash or review
5Your brain learnsThe anxiety comes down on its own, and you handled it
Each practice weakens the cycle. Over time, the triggers lose their power.

Want to learn more first? Read How to build an ERP plan at home.

Please read first: this is not a diagnosis or therapy This guide is education. It can’t diagnose OCD or replace care from a licensed professional. If you’re looking for help, please reach out to a licensed, ERP-trained clinician near you through our directory or the International OCD Foundation directory. If you’re having thoughts of ending your life, live with an eating disorder, or your anxiety feels unmanageable, please work with a therapist before doing exposures on your own. In crisis? Call or text 988 (U.S.).

Inspired by Kimberley Quinlan, LMFT, and her Your Anxiety Toolkit podcast episode on building an exposure plan.

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Your list
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Finish the sentence in your own words. What’s the worst thing you think will happen?

It doesn’t have to be perfect. Be gentle with yourself.

Fear, or your faith, culture or values?

Some of what you do may come from a true religious practice, a cultural tradition or a personal value. That isn’t a compulsion. Other things are done because of fear, anxiety or uncertainty. Go through your list honestly. Only the fear-driven ones go on your ladder.

Ask yourself: am I doing this because of my religion, culture or values, or because of fear, anxiety or uncertainty?

You haven’t added anything you avoid or do yet. Go back to add a few, or continue.
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What’s the opposite?

This is the most important part of ERP. For each item, write what you would do instead: face the thing you avoid, or not do the compulsion. These become the steps on your ladder.

Avoiding drivingDrive a short route
Checking the lockLock it once and walk away
Replaying a conversationNotice it, and come back to the moment

Nothing here yet. Go back and mark the things you do because of fear or anxiety.
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For at least
Family accommodation Reassurance helps for a moment, then the doubt comes back. Write what you’d like a loved one to say when you ask, so they can support you without answering the OCD. Share it with them when you’re both calm.

Build your ladder

How hard would each step feel? 1 is the easiest, 10 the hardest. Each number is used once, so every step gets its own number. Tap a number that’s already taken to move it here.

Nothing on your ladder yet. Go back and add something you avoid or do to feel safe.
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Your ladder, easiest first
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ERP is hard. Write down what you want your life to look like, so you can come back to it when it gets tough.

Choose your first step

Start with something around a 3 or 4. It should feel a little hard, but not too much. You’ll climb from there.

Add a few items to your ladder first, then come back here.
Break it into a step you can actually do this week.
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Both halves matter. Say you sit with the doubt through dinner, then spend an hour replaying it in bed. You did the exposure, but the replaying undid it. Facing the fear and not doing the compulsion, during or after, is what teaches your brain it can handle this.

Watch for the inner critic

How you talk to yourself through this matters. Research suggests people who are kinder to themselves tend to do better in treatment and are less likely to relapse. Tap any that sound familiar, and they’ll go on your plan.

“Building a case against yourself” is close to what Kimberley Quinlan calls “gathering.”

When your brain pushes back

These thoughts show up for almost everyone doing ERP. They don’t mean you’re doing it wrong. Tap one to open it.

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Your ERP plan

You did something brave just by building this. Keep it somewhere you’ll see it, and go one step at a time.

Why this matters to me

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What scares me

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If I don’t do the compulsion, I’m afraid that {{ feared }}

My ladder, easiest first

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My first step

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When my inner critic shows up

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My script for loved ones

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My practice log

Each time you do an exposure, tap Log a practice above. Your entries are saved on this page, on this device, and they’ll show up here and in your PDF.

Log each practice on paper below, or online at isitocd.com/erp-at-home on the same device you used to make this plan.

Date: ________________Step: ________________________________
What I think will happen: ____________________________________________ How sure I am (0–10): ____    Anxiety before: ____    At the highest: ____    After: ____ Did it happen?   No   /   Not sure   /   Yes What I learned: ___________________________________________________
Date: ________________Step: ________________________________
What I think will happen: ____________________________________________ How sure I am (0–10): ____    Anxiety before: ____    At the highest: ____    After: ____ Did it happen?   No   /   Not sure   /   Yes What I learned: ___________________________________________________
Date: ________________Step: ________________________________
What I think will happen: ____________________________________________ How sure I am (0–10): ____    Anxiety before: ____    At the highest: ____    After: ____ Did it happen?   No   /   Not sure   /   Yes What I learned: ___________________________________________________
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Remember Anxiety is uncomfortable, not dangerous. It goes up, peaks and comes down on its own when you don’t do the compulsion. When you’re ready, move up one step. When a week is hard, stay where you are. Both are progress.
Keeping it going
  • Keep practicing, even when things feel better
  • Hard weeks happen. A setback isn’t starting over.
  • Watch for compulsions sneaking back in new forms
  • Go back to an earlier step whenever you need to
  • Notice how far you’ve come, and be proud of it
One-on-one ERP · DC, Maryland & Virginia

Want support with your plan?

Giovonni Hinton, LCSW, offers ERP for OCD in person in Washington, DC, and by telehealth across DC, Maryland and Virginia. A 15-minute consultation is $75 and is credited toward your first session.

Book at sheisresilience.com
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Find an OCD therapist

Is It OCD? directory Clinicians trained in ERP or I-CBT, each reviewed before they’re listed. Search the directory isitocd.com/find-a-therapist
International OCD Foundation A larger listing of OCD therapists, clinics and support groups. Search the IOCDF directory iocdf.org/find-help

Education, not therapy or a diagnosis. In crisis? Call or text 988 (U.S.). Inspired by Kimberley Quinlan, LMFT, and her Your Anxiety Toolkit podcast episode on building an exposure plan.

Want a gentle nudge to keep going?

Join the Is It OCD? newsletter for occasional ERP tips and encouragement. Only your email is shared, never your plan.

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Log a practice

Fill in the first part before you start, then finish it after. The goal isn’t for the anxiety to go away. It’s to learn what happens when you don’t do the compulsion.

It’s okay to pause

Try riding out the urge, sometimes called urge surfing:

  1. Notice where you feel the anxiety in your body.
  2. Describe it to yourself: “My chest is tight. My heart is beating fast.”
  3. Breathe slowly and let the urge rise and fall like a wave. Don’t do the compulsion, and don’t push the feeling away.
  4. If it’s still too much, step back and come back to it later. That isn’t failing. You can try a smaller step next time.

If you’re thinking about ending your life or feel unsafe, call or text 988 now. For ongoing support, find an OCD therapist.
Which step are you practicing? Add steps to your ladder first.
Before
How sure are you that it will happen? 0 = not at all, 10 = completely
How anxious do you feel right now? 0–10
During
How anxious did you feel at the highest point? 0–10
That’s a lot of anxiety, and you’re still here. Want some help riding it out?
After
How anxious do you feel now? 0–10
Did what you were afraid of actually happen?
Choose which step you practiced at the top first.

Saved only on this device. Nothing is sent to us.