In this episode, Carrie revisits her past conversation with psychotherapist and author Ingrid Ord about acceptance and commitment therapy, this time adding the insights she’s gained from five more years of working directly with OCD. 

Episode Highlights:

• Why avoiding anxiety just makes it spread wider and wider, and what psychotherapist Ingrid Ord says actually happens once you stop arguing with the thought
• Carrie’s own take on why OCD therapy often misses attachment wounds and unbuilt confidence, not just symptoms
• Where ACT hits a wall for moderate to severe OCD, and which evidence based tools Carrie says have to fill that gap
• The backpack and purple man metaphor Ingrid uses with clients, carrying anxiety along with you instead of wrestling it into submission
• What Ingrid’s book, Act With Faith, offers Christian clients and therapists, and why people far outside her original audience have picked it up

Episode Summary: 

Can Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Really Help Christians With OCD?

This is a revisit of one of my earlier conversations with Ingrid Ord, five years after it first aired. I wasn’t primarily working with OCD clients back then, so this time around, I’m adding fresh commentary from where my practice stands now, layering new insight over the original interview. As I look at Acceptance and Commitment Therapy today, I’m struck by how many of its principles connect with the Christian life, particularly when it comes to learning to live with uncertainty, discomfort, and things we cannot control.

Why Trying to Avoid Anxiety Actually Makes OCD Worse

One of the things Ingrid and I talked about was how natural it is to want to get away from anxiety as quickly as possible. But when avoiding that anxiety becomes the goal, the temporary relief can reinforce the cycle and make the fear harder to face. I think this is especially important for people with OCD because compulsions can feel like they’re solving the problem when they’re actually keeping you stuck.

Why Do OCD Intrusive Thoughts Often Target What You Care About Most?

I think one of the most powerful ideas we discussed is the connection between OCD and our values. I’ve seen how much shame people can experience when their intrusive thoughts seem completely opposite to who they are. But what if the very things that feel most threatening are connected to the things you care about most? Understanding that distinction can begin to change the way you relate to those thoughts instead of treating every obsession as a reflection of your character.

How Can You Keep Moving Forward When OCD and Anxiety Are Still There?

Ingrid shared a metaphor I really liked, which is imagining your difficult thoughts and feelings as something you carry in a backpack rather than something you have to get rid of before you can live your life. I also wanted to bring in a broader perspective from my work with OCD, including the ways trauma, attachment wounds, confidence, and other experiences can influence the anxiety picture. For me, this is a reminder that OCD treatment isn’t always just about reducing symptoms.

How Does ACT Connect With Christian Faith and Trusting God?

This is where I think ACT gets especially interesting for Christians. Ingrid and I talked about how accepting difficult experiences doesn’t have to mean giving up hope or believing God cannot change our circumstances. For me, there is a tension between accepting what is happening today while still believing God can do something different tomorrow. Learning to live in that tension has shaped the way I think about suffering, contentment, faith, and trust.

Can You Take Action Even When You’re Afraid?

I don’t think faith means we will always feel courageous before we take the next step. When I look at people throughout Scripture, I see people who experienced fear and uncertainty but still moved forward in obedience. I think that connects beautifully with the idea of committed action in ACT: knowing what matters to you and choosing to move toward it even when uncomfortable thoughts and emotions come along for the ride.

Listen to the full episode for the deeper conversation with Ingrid Ord and my updated thoughts on where ACT fits into OCD treatment and Christian faith.