OCD Treatment
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Therapist in Indore
You Have Tried to Stop the Rituals. You Cannot. That Is Not Weakness — That Is OCD.
In Mahalaxmi Nagar, Scheme No. 78, and Nipania, we see the same story regularly. Someone washes their hands again. Checks the gas knob again. Reads the same paragraph four times to make sure they understood it correctly. Asks for reassurance — "Are you sure everything is okay?" — and feels relief for twenty minutes before the doubt comes back.
You know, on some level, that it does not make sense. But knowing that does not stop it. So you search — "ERP therapist near me" or "exposure therapy for OCD" — because somewhere you have heard there is a specific treatment for this. There is. It is called Exposure and Response Prevention. And it works.
At Dr. Rajvardhan Bhanwar's clinic in Indore, we offer structured ERP therapy delivered by a psychiatrist trained at AIIMS Delhi. This is not generic counselling. It is a specific, evidence-based protocol designed for OCD — and it is the most effective treatment for OCD that exists.
Dr. Rajvardhan Bhanwar's clinic — structured, evidence-based psychotherapy in Indore, in a space where you can actually breathe and talk.
What Is Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)?
ERP is a specialised form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) developed specifically for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It has the strongest research support of any treatment for OCD — stronger than medication alone, and significantly stronger than general therapy or counselling.
Here is the core idea in plain language:
Exposure means deliberately facing the thoughts, images, objects, or situations that trigger your obsessions — in a gradual, controlled way. Not all at once. Not randomly. Step by step, starting from the least distressing triggers and moving up.
Response Prevention means resisting the compulsion that usually follows the obsession. The handwashing. The checking. The reassurance-seeking. The mental reviewing. The avoidance. Response Prevention means you sit with the anxiety — and let it pass on its own, without the compulsion.
This sounds uncomfortable. It is, at first. But it teaches your brain something important: the anxiety will peak and then come down — even without the compulsion. Over time, the obsessions lose their power. The anxiety spikes get smaller. The need to perform the ritual fades.
This is not theory. This is how OCD brains change. ERP creates that change.
Why Indore Needs a Dedicated Psychotherapist — Not Just a General Counsellor
Indore is one of the fastest-growing cities in central India. That growth brings opportunity. It also brings real mental health pressure that general medicine does not address.
Anxiety disorders, clinical depression, relationship stress, trauma, and personality-related difficulties all need specific, structured therapy — not just a prescription. That is where psychotherapy comes in.
Psychotherapy is a structured, talk-based treatment. A trained therapist works with you over multiple sessions to change unhelpful thought patterns, manage emotions, and build skills to handle life better. It is not venting. It is not advice-giving. It is a clinical process with a goal and a method.
Dr. Rajvardhan Bhanwar is an MD from AIIMS Delhi — one of India's top medical institutions. He combines psychiatric expertise with structured psychotherapy, so you get both the medical view and the therapeutic work in one place.
Types of OCD We Treat with ERP in Indore
Contamination OCD
Fear of germs, dirt, illness, or contamination. Compulsions include repeated handwashing, cleaning, avoiding touching surfaces, and asking others for reassurance about cleanliness. Very common, and very responsive to ERP.
Harm OCD
Intrusive thoughts about harming yourself or others — even when you have no desire to do so. This is one of the most distressing and most misunderstood forms of OCD. People often fear they are dangerous or "bad." They are not. These are ego-dystonic intrusive thoughts — the mind generating scenarios the person finds horrifying, not desires they wish to act on. ERP is highly effective here.
Checking OCD
Fear that something bad will happen if you do not check — gas knobs, locks, electrical switches, emails sent. You check once, feel temporary relief, then doubt returns. ERP teaches you to leave without checking — and tolerate the discomfort.
Symmetry and Order OCD
Things must be arranged in a specific way. If they are not, intense discomfort follows. Compulsions include re-arranging, repeating actions until they "feel right," and counting.
Why Indore Needs a Dedicated Psychotherapist — Not Just a General Counsellor
Indore is one of the fastest-growing cities in central India. That growth brings opportunity. It also brings real mental health pressure that general medicine does not address.
Anxiety disorders, clinical depression, relationship stress, trauma, and personality-related difficulties all need specific, structured therapy — not just a prescription. That is where psychotherapy comes in.
Psychotherapy is a structured, talk-based treatment. A trained therapist works with you over multiple sessions to change unhelpful thought patterns, manage emotions, and build skills to handle life better. It is not venting. It is not advice-giving. It is a clinical process with a goal and a method.
Dr. Rajvardhan Bhanwar is an MD from AIIMS Delhi — one of India's top medical institutions. He combines psychiatric expertise with structured psychotherapy, so you get both the medical view and the therapeutic work in one place.
How ERP Sessions Work at Our Indore Clinic
Step 1: Full Psychiatric and OCD Assessment
Dr. Rajvardhan Bhanwar conducts a detailed assessment to confirm the OCD diagnosis, identify all obsession-compulsion cycles, and rule out other conditions. Many people come in with anxiety or depression as the stated concern — and OCD is identified only through careful assessment. Getting the diagnosis right is the first step to getting the treatment right.
Step 3: Building the Fear Hierarchy
Together, we create a fear hierarchy — a ranked list of obsession triggers, from least distressing to most. We do not start at the top. We start at the bottom. Each step is agreed upon together. Nothing happens without your understanding and participation.
Step 5: Generalisation and Relapse Prevention
As you move up the hierarchy, the lower triggers no longer generate significant anxiety. Eventually, even the most feared triggers become manageable. The final sessions focus on what to do if symptoms return — so you are equipped for life, not dependent on ongoing treatment.
Step 2: Psychoeducation — Understanding Your OCD
Before any exposure begins, you understand exactly what is happening in your brain. What OCD is. What it is not. Why compulsions maintain it. Why exposure works. This is not optional background — it is a therapeutic tool in itself. Patients who understand their OCD engage better with ERP.
Step 4: Exposure Sessions — Gradual and Structured
Exposures happen in session and as homework between sessions. Each exposure is followed by Response Prevention — resisting the compulsion and allowing anxiety to peak and then naturally decline. We track anxiety levels throughout. You see, in real numbers, that the anxiety goes down without the compulsion. That is the learning that rewires OCD.
Why Indore Needs a Dedicated Psychotherapist — Not Just a General Counsellor
Indore is one of the fastest-growing cities in central India. That growth brings opportunity. It also brings real mental health pressure that general medicine does not address.
Anxiety disorders, clinical depression, relationship stress, trauma, and personality-related difficulties all need specific, structured therapy — not just a prescription. That is where psychotherapy comes in.
Psychotherapy is a structured, talk-based treatment. A trained therapist works with you over multiple sessions to change unhelpful thought patterns, manage emotions, and build skills to handle life better. It is not venting. It is not advice-giving. It is a clinical process with a goal and a method.
Dr. Rajvardhan Bhanwar is an MD from AIIMS Delhi — one of India's top medical institutions. He combines psychiatric expertise with structured psychotherapy, so you get both the medical view and the therapeutic work in one place.
What People Ask Before Starting ERP for OCD in Indore
Is ERP the same as CBT?
ERP is a specialised protocol within the broader family of CBT. All ERP is a form of CBT, but not all CBT is ERP. Standard CBT — thought records, challenging negative beliefs — is not sufficient for OCD and can sometimes make it worse by increasing rumination. ERP is the specific evidence-based approach for OCD, and it should be delivered by someone trained in it specifically.
My family keeps reassuring me. Is that a problem?
Yes — reassurance from family members is a form of compulsion and it maintains OCD. We include family psychoeducation as part of the treatment process. Your family members learn what to say (and what not to say) to support your recovery without feeding the cycle. This is one of the most practically useful parts of OCD treatment.
I have had OCD for 10 years. Is ERP still effective for long-standing OCD?
Yes. The duration of OCD does not reduce ERP's effectiveness. Longer-standing OCD may require more sessions — because there are more deeply established patterns to work through — but the mechanism of change is the same. Many people who have lived with OCD for a decade or more achieve significant remission through a structured ERP program.
Will ERP make my anxiety worse permanently?
No. Anxiety during ERP is temporary and intentional. The therapy is structured so that each exposure is graded — you start where you can manage, not where it is overwhelming. Anxiety spikes during exposure and then comes down. The technical term for this is habituation. After repeated exposures, the same trigger produces less and less anxiety. You are not damaged by the process — you are re-trained by it.
How long does ERP take for OCD?
Most patients see significant symptom reduction within 12 to 20 sessions. Some complex or severe presentations take longer. The Y-BOCS (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale) — a validated clinical tool — is used to track your symptom severity at regular intervals so you can see measurable progress, not just feel it subjectively.
ERP and Medication — When Both Are Needed
For mild to moderate OCD, ERP alone is often sufficient. For severe OCD — where anxiety is so intense that you cannot engage with exposures — a short course of medication (usually an SSRI) can reduce the baseline anxiety enough to make ERP possible.
Because Dr. Bhanwar is both a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist, he can manage both in one place. You do not need to coordinate between a prescribing doctor and a separate therapist. The treatment is integrated — and that matters for outcomes.
Medication does not cure OCD. ERP does the work. Medication, when needed, creates the conditions for ERP to succeed.
Online ERP Therapy — If You Cannot Come In Person
Exposure therapy for OCD is available online. ERP via video call is supported by research and works for most OCD presentations. For some exposures — particularly those involving specific environments or objects — we may design sessions that you conduct at home while connected via video.
Online ERP is available for patients in Indore who prefer remote sessions, and for patients across Madhya Pradesh and India who cannot access a trained ERP therapist locally.
Start ERP Therapy in Indore — Talk to Us First.
If you have been searching for an ERP therapist near me or exposure therapy for OCD in Indore — you have found the right place.
Dr. Rajvardhan Bhanwar MD (AIIMS, Delhi) is a locally based psychiatrist who specialises in OCD and anxiety disorders. We are a single doctor, a real clinic in Indore — not a corporate chain. We will talk to you honestly about your symptoms before you book anything.
Call or WhatsApp us. We will answer your questions directly — and tell you clearly whether ERP is the right approach for you.
Serving Patients Across Indore for ERP and OCD Treatment
Patients come for exposure therapy for OCD from across Indore — from Scheme No. 54, 74, 78, and 114, from Shalimar Township, Satya Sai Area, and from Sukhliya and Bapat Square.
We also see patients from Khajrana, Bengali Square, and Nipania, and from along the AB Road and MR-10 corridor. If you are near Bombay Hospital, Medanta Hospital, Apollo Rajshree Hospital, or Motherhood Hospital, our clinic is accessible.
Patients near C21 Mall, Malhar Mega Mall, Orbit Mall, or the Brilliant Convention Centre — and those near Sayaji Hotel and Radisson Blu — reach us without difficulty. And for anyone outside easy reach, online ERP is available.