Join us, Laura Mole and Jessica Hayes, to really pick apart an OCD subtype that isn't talked about much. False memories and real-event OCD gets explored in this episode, you'll get to understand mental and invisible compulsions, and you even get a look into Jess' dog frustrations and Laura's big brain fails to get to know us more. We hope you have as much fun with it as we did. 

Time stamps:

00:30 Jess talks Dobby the house elf

02:30 Introduction to real-event OCD

02:58 Exposure feedback from our self-care

09:10 Using our support systems 

10:00 Spoon theory 

12:30 How we felt releasing the podcast

13:50 Brain spam 

19:00 Real event OCD and false memories, how it works

19:50 Why memory is unreliable, despite what your OCD says

24:00 Sexual shame memories 

25:30 Mental compulsions and what they do

26:40 Laura starts buffering 

30:45 Cancel culture and real-event OCD

32:40 Why is guilt there?

35:00 Perfect morals and values

37:00 Over-apologising and OCD

39:00 Mental compulsions vs just thinking 

44:20 What is pure O?

44:58 Can ERP work for mental compulsions? 

46:20 The mental load of OCD

48:10 What we aim for in therapy for OCD

49:15 Dropping anchor to help with rumination

53:47 OCD wins of the week

55:00 Exposure lab

100:00 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

In this episode, we go through some of the wider factors that can make someone more susceptible to OCD, and some things that might have made previous therapy unsuccessful. Laura Mole talks through a way to build some self-compassion and Jessica Hayes shares some tips for those who are neurodivergent too. As always, we talk things through with a bit of humour and a whole lot of validation. So grab a brew, settle in, and listen to some friends get passionate about OCD. 

Time Stamps

00:40 Introduction and hello

01:20 Exposure lab feedback

05:30 Brain spam- our intrusive thoughts feature

13:40 Jess' book for children to protect people from OCD

15:55 Coping skills to tolerate exposures

18:04 Laura gets lost

18:35 Window of tolerance and why ERP is sometimes too hard

20:25 How self-care fits into OCD therapy

22:32 Responsive self-care vs self-care compulsions

30:00 A list for when your amygdala is driving the bus and how loved ones can help

32:40 Self-esteem and how this plays into OCD

35:00 Neurodivergent self-regulation and sensory needs

41:20 Building self-compassion to help OCD

44:20 Laura's self-compassion exercise 

49:40 OCD Wins of the Week

52 :00 Exposure Lab

54:30 Goodbyes

For the book referenced in the episode, you can find it at www.reimaginetherapy.co.uk

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Join us, Laura Mole and Jessica Hayes, as we start to challenge myths around OCD and share some tips around what help can look like. Just two friends having a chat about something we are passionate about, hopefully in a way that makes you feel heard. You can listen to Laura pranking Jess and come along for the ride while we firm up some new features, and give you some food for thought around OCD too. 

Time Stamps

00:00 Intro and Laura's prank

03:26 Our training and approaches

07:12 Things our d*ckead brains have said this week

11:28 Resources for you

12:00 Exposure feedback

13:30 Therapist competencies and OCD help

17:35 You have to be tidy to have OCD, right? And other myths

24:35 OCD and the thousand chamber gun

27:50 OCD risk assessing, trust and personality traits

36:00 What if, just in case

37:20 Useful questionnaires

40:25 Helpful places to start challenging OCD

41:00 When things can be helpful vs reinforce the OCD

47:20 Exposures for the week

52:00 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

An episode where you get to know us, Jess Hayes and Laura Mole, and our wonderful guest host, Jess Marriner. Grab a coffee and listen to three friends and therapists talk all things OCD and let us share some interesting insights you might not have considered. Prepare for some swearing, tangents, and genuinely useful knowledge too. 

Time Stamps:

00:00 Intro and theme

03:00 Things our d*ckhead brains said this week

09:30 Visualising differences in OCD

15:00 Dreams in OCD, important?

16:30 Manifestation and other social media trends

19:10 Life as an OCD therapist

23:15 OCD search for certainty 

24:00 How to know if it is OCD

34:30 What compulsions do we see?

36:15 What we want to hear from you

39:50 Taboo topics and Jess H's inappropriate surveys

42:30 Exposures from us

45:00 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Come with us, Laura Mole and Jess Hayes, as we explore the 'checking' in 'Just Checking'. You get to hear about a day in the life of Shenrique, as we talk all about how they check to make sure that they aren't a bad person, then take a lesson from vampire superstitions to break the OCD loop. As always, you also get a look into our brain spam, and get to shout out your weekly OCD wins too. 

Time Stamps:

01:30: Dramas through our week

07:00: What OCD Doris has been up to

10:30: Interoceptive differences in neurodivergence and health anxiety

13:15: Brain spam

18:48: Our story telling about checking clients

23:00: Epstein files, me too and OCD

23:20: Shenrique's checking compulsions in case they are a bad person

27:50: What checking actually does

28:40: Shout out to Elyse Myers 

30:00: The OCD cycle and what keeps it going

31:25: Vampires and OCD to show what to aim for

37:49: Hierarchies and values-based erp lists

40:40: Do we have to do an exposure to everything on the list? 

43:55: How do we help Shenrique?

45:40: More tolerance, not more certainty 

46:40: OCD wins of the week

51:00: Questions from the listeners: OCD diagnosis

53:00: Exposure lab feedback from imaginal exposure

54:50: Exposure lab for checking 

56:40: OCD being a big anxiety diverter

58:00: Goodbyes 

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Convinced you'll be the one person who does Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) wrong? This one's for you. Jess Hayes and Laura Mole walk through how ERP actually works — who picks the exposures, how scary they need to be, and why you genuinely cannot fail — plus what happens when therapy ends.

Exposure and Response Prevention is all about exposing yourself to your OCD fears (exposure) and then making active choices in not engaging in compulsions and avoidance (response prevention) to challenge the OCD, and it is often referred to as the 'gold standard' of OCD treatment. This episode explores why it can be a helpful approach, and future episodes will discuss some alternatives. 

Podcast by 

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

and

Christian Nickson, editor

Time stamps:

02:00 Brain spam

05:20 OCD brains need to obsess

07:20 Compassionate other voices 

09:20 ERP as the gold standard, what is it?

10:45 Amygdala, the brain, and the threat response 

15:44 How ERP fits into cognitive behavioural therapy

18:40 Which CBT treatments are unhelpful for OCD

21:45 Brody and their contamination OCD

24:20 How might ERP look like for Brody?

26:30 What we don't do with ERP

27:10 Do you have to immediately do exposures?

27:30 Who picks the exposures? 

28:30 You are in control and what to do if you aren't ready?

29:28 You can't fail your ERP

31:15 How scary should exposures be? How Brody tackles ERP

34:29 What to do to make ERP work?

36:00 How family and other support can help 

41:10 What comes after therapy?

43:00 When does ERP not work? 

46:34 ERP is imperfect 

49:05 Questions from the listeners: ERP and medication

51:20 Key takeaways for ERP for OCD

51:55 OCD Weekly Wins

52:56 Exposure Lab feedback

55:20 Exposure Lab for contamination OCD

56:20 Thank you and goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Do you love your partner? Are you sure? What about now? Still sure? If your brain won't stop cross-examining your own feelings, this one's for you.

In this episode, Jess and Laura dig into relationship OCD (rOCD) — the subtype that turns love into a courtroom and your own mind into the world's most annoying prosecutor. We cover what rOCD actually looks like, why it's so easy to mistake for genuine doubt, and how it gets you stuck in a loop of checking, reassurance-seeking, and mental reviewing that makes everything worse (classic OCD, honestly).

We also get into retroactive jealousy, false memories (yes, including the "did I actually kiss someone at that party in 2009?" variety), where our weirdly perfectionist ideas about relationships come from, and how different treatment approaches can help you stop taking your brain spam quite so literally.

Plus: The rOCD trap, some extra considerations for this subtype, and a surprise cameo in the Exposure Lab.

Podcast by 

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time stamps:

00:00 Relationship OCD Google searches

02:47 Intro and hello

04:40 Brain Spam

07:20 Why relationship OCD? 

07:42 What is rOCD and what does it look like? 

12:45 What might someone with rOCD do?

15:00 Where we get perfectionist views of relationships 

19:49 The relationship OCD trap

23:20 Retroactive jealousy 

24:00 Did I just kiss that person? And other false memories

27:20 Is this OCD or normal doubt?

36:19 How do we work with rOCD? 

40:00 How different approaches can work for OCD

47:30 Extra considerations for this subtype of OCD

1:02:34 Exposure Lab and Peter's cameo

1:05:55 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Ever watched someone you love spiral and had no idea what to do — so you just… answered the question? Yeah. This week we're talking directly to the OCD support squad: partners, parents, siblings, and anyone else who's been accidentally colluding with OCD while trying to be a good human.

We cover why OCD feels the way it does (brain spam, basically), the sneaky reassurance traps even the most well-meaning loved ones fall into, what to actually say instead, and how to look after yourself in all of this. Warm, honest, occasionally chaotic, and featuring Laura's chunky rims and some words that made Jess blush.

Podcast by

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time stamps:

00:40 Introductions and chunky rims

02:30 What we are covering and upcoming episodes

03:50 Brain spam

07:20 Recap of the OCD cycle

10:15 How OCD feels to someone with it

13:46 An example of what OCD is like for the person

18:00 Example of the impact of OCD on their loved one

20:02 Family accommodation and reinforcing the OCD

22:15 Reducing reassurance in a gradual and supportive way

26:42 Expectations and time frames for dropping reassurance

27:45 The reassurance trap and sneaky reassurance

30:30 Phrases to use instead of reassurance

31:15 The reassurance book

33:42 Validating the emotion, not the thoughts

34:30 Reassuring the person, not the OCD phrases

35:45 Managing the shame of a 'failed' exposure

36:40 Balancing care vs colliding with OCD when you need to manage your own emotions

39:07 Attending a therapy session

41:19 How to support exposures or behavioural experiments

47:18 Helping to advocate for a loved one with OCD

49:50 Neurodivergent considerations

52:10 Support for the supporter

54:00 What if the loved one doesn't want help?

57:18 What people with OCD want you to know

1:00:15 Do's and dont's

1:02:48 OCD Wins of the Week

1:04:13 Exposure Lab

1:06:15 Goodbye!

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Got OCD questions? Same. This week Jess and Laura tackle the listener mailbag from Laura's Tiktok live— covering how to get tested for OCD, accessing treatment, the serotonin myth, the OCD-ADHD connection, contamination OCD, and false attraction. Laura shares an insight into her feelings around her own OCD journey. There's also a free children's resource on neurodivergence, a children's book on intrusive thoughts, and Jess' entirely predictable over-preparation for an OCD research conference.

Podcast by 

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time stamps

00:00 Hello chat

01:29 Introductions 

07:30 Children's book for intrusive thoughts

09:30 A free resource for children to understand neurodivergence 

12:30 OCD research conference and Jess' over-preparation

14:33 Brain Spam

18:18 Laura's Tiktok live for questions

19:52 How do you get tested for OCD 

24:44  How do I get help for OCD?

32:44 Is OCD just a lack of serotonin?

37:56 Can OCD and ADHD correlate?

46:40 I can't touch anything my family have touched because I know it will kill them- how do I stop that?

47:55 I feel like myself intrusive thoughts reflect real feelings, they feel so real

51:20 Can you explain false attraction and false urges?

54:35 Exposure Lab

1:01:00 Teaser for next week and goodbyes

For the book mentioned in the episode today, you can find it at www.reimaginetherapy.co.uk

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

This week Jess and Laura tackle one of the most stigmatised “taboo” OCD subtypes around — POCD, - and because we don’t want to get shadow banned, we will refer to it as “PDF File” – but we are not using this term as avoidance, or to avoid triggering anyone - just so you know! It shows up most as intrusive, unwanted sexual thoughts, images, doubts, words about children.

This is the one that sends people spiralling in shame and silence instead of reaching out for help. They break down what it actually is (and crucially, what it isn't), why groinal responses happen, what recovery looks like, and why the fact that these thoughts horrify you matters more than you think. This is an episode that will not only help you to feel less alone, but it will highlight exactly how to ask for help, and where to get it. Plus, Jess finally gets Laura crying on the podcast.

Podcast by 

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time stamps

01:39 Hellos and introductions

02:59 Brain Spam

07:00 Peadophilia vs POCD

10:45 A message for people supporting those with POCD

17:58 How can pOCD look? And a little note on incest thoughts

28:37 What is a groinal response and why does it happen?

35:10 Shame in POCD

41:54 Recommended help and resources 

46:20 When POCD pairs up with other themes

49:10 What does recovery look like?

51:10 Statistics about types of thoughts

53:23 Final tips

55:40 Weekly Win

58:52 Exposure Lab

1:02:00 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Description:

⚠️ Content warning: this episode contains discussion of suicidal ideation and themes that some listeners might find distressing. 

pOCD — pedophilia-themed OCD — is one of the most misunderstood and stigmatised subtypes out there, and Molly Lambert has lived it. In this episode, Molly shares what her intrusive thoughts actually looked and felt like: from existential anxiety to fears about being a paedophile, magical thinking, emotional checking, and the spiral that nearly broke her. She talks honestly about suicidal ideation, how TikTok helped her find her way, what it took to finally share her thoughts with others — and what acceptance can actually look like on the other side.

Laura, Jess and Molly also dig into how common pOCD really is, why it tends to hit the people it does, how therapy helped, and why Molly now advocates publicly for OCD awareness (including how she handles the inevitable backlash). Plus: postpartum mums and pOCD, the role of drinking and distraction, and Molly gets involved in the Brain Spam feature 🧠 

Podcast by 

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Featuring Molly Lambert, OCD and mental illness advocate

Edited by Christian Nickson

Timestamps:

01:00 Hellos

01:30 Introducing Molly Lambert

02:57 What were Molly's thoughts like? From existential anxiety to paedophile fears

05:20 Magical thinking and checking emotions

09:20 When the pOCD started to spiral

14:40 How common is pOCD and why does it happen?

16:45 Thinking about suicide

17:30 What helped Molly realise it was OCD?

19:30 How drinking and distractions fit in

20:50 How TikTok helped

23:45 Other themes sneaking in

25:30 Starting to share the thoughts with others

28:30 Sharing with family

30:10 Advice for sharing — and Molly's experience of others' reactions

31:20 Therapy for Molly's OCD

35:47 Pursuing an OCD diagnosis

41:15 What acceptance can look like

45:00 Laura's OCD Doris

46:00 OCD help needs to be personalised

47:15 Molly's advocacy work for OCD

53:12 How Molly deals with negative feedback online

58:00 Postpartum mums and pOCD

1:04:50 How do Molly's friends and family help?

1:07:00 Where to find information and support

1:12:12 What did 15-year-old Molly need to hear?

1:14:33 Brain Spam

1:18:50 Wins of the Week

1:20:00 Avoidance in pOCD

1:20:25 Exposure Lab

1:22:30 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD Instagram and Tiktok pages: @jess_helps_your_ocd and @ocdtherapylaura

Please check out our privacy policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Are you a terrible person, or does your brain just really, really want you to think so? This week Jess and Laura get into moral scrupulosity OCD — the subtype where intrusive thoughts aren't about harm or contamination, but about your fundamental character, your values, and whether you've done something unforgivable.

Laura gets personal about her own moral OCD compulsions (yes, really), and they unpack why this subtype hits so differently — the shame, the thought-action fusion, and why reassurance-seeking feels almost morally necessary in itself. Plus: a detour into horse willies, a neurodivergent shout-out, and an unexpectedly deep dive into manifesting.

🧠 Brain Spam, an Exposure Lab, and a listener question about supporting a loved one with moral OCD round things out nicely.

Podcast by 

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Laura Mole

Time stamps

00:43 Stuff you might Google with Moral scrupulosity OCD

02:50 Introduction and catch up

09:00 Brain 🧠 Spam

14:30 Horse willies

15:30 What moral OCD is

18:00 Laura's moral OCD compulsions 

26:30 Why does it feel so bad?

28:11 What if i have actually done something bad?

31:35 Differences in therapy to help moral OCD; tolerating uncertainty, compassion, and thought-action-fusion. 

40:46 Autistic shout-out

42:00 OCD irony

44:25 Manifesting and OCD

50:22 Question from a listener: Supporting a loved one

59:02 Exposure Lab

1:02:45 Upcoming episode themes 

1:03:23 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Ever wondered what goes on behind the therapy room door? This week Jess and Laura answer your questions about therapist life — from why therapy costs what it does to whether we actually have our own therapy (spoiler: yes). It's honest, a little unfiltered, and probably not what you'd expect. Dive in and get to know us better, and listen to what we worry about in OCD therapy too.

Podcast by 

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time stamps:

00:00 Introductions and hellos

04:30 Today's themes

05:14 Brain Spam

13:00 Question for a therapist: what are you writing?

18:18 Therapy costs and the ick

27:26 People selling OCD dreams

32:20 What if you don't like your therapist?

39:55 Do therapists have therapy?

43:50 How we juggle work and look after ourselves

48:00 EMDR therapy for OCD

50:57 How does your therapist feel?

57:00 What your therapist finds hard when working with OCD

1:00:40 Therapist Weekly Wins

1:03:15 Exposure Lab

1:08:40 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

This week Jess is joined by Joshua Munn, a therapist specialising in OCD and ADHD, for a conversation that's long overdue on this podcast. They get into how to tell OCD and ADHD apart (spoiler: it's not always straightforward), why adapting ERP for ADHD brains actually makes therapy better for everyone, and how ACT and compassion-focused approaches fit into the picture. Expect honest chat about rejection sensitivity, executive functioning, hyperfixation shame, and why the goal was never a neurotypical brain anyway.

Podcast by: 

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Special guest Joshua Munn, OCD and ADHD specialist therapist 

Website: www.therapywithjosh.co.uk Social media: @therapywith_josh on Instagram and @therapywithjosh on Tiktok

Time stamps:

00:00 What to expect this episode 

01:44 Introduction to Josh

02:50 Why Josh started working with OCD and ADHD

03:40 How to differentiate OCD and ADHD

05:50 Not aiming for a neurotypical brain

06:20 Rejection sensitivity and OCD

09:00 Imposter syndrome in ADHD and OCD

10:30 What executive functioning difficulties people may notice

12:40 ADHD adaptions for OCD therapy 

17:00 What ACT therapy is and how it works with OCD and ADHD

22:00 Neurodivergence and parenting 

25:33 Making ERP more ADHD friendly 

27:30 Visualising characters for OCD

29:20 OCD leading to low mood in ADHD

31:00 ADHD and boredom

34:33 Neurodivergence and OCD Venn diagrams

36:56 Attention training and music 

39:10 Hyperfixations and shame

39:35 Healthy guilt vs OCD guilt

42:52 Josh's favourite tips for OCD and ADHD

45:20 Session adaptions for people with ADHD

48:00 Being mindful of how much OCD content you consume 

50:36 Considerations for medication 

53:49 Question from the listeners 

56:22 Exposure Lab

58:00 Goodbyes

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer: 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

If you've found yourself Googling "does my child have OCD?" at 11pm, this episode is for you.

This week, Laura takes the lead whilst her and Jess take a dive deep into OCD in children and young people — what it looks like, how it hides, and what actually helps. Whether you're a parent trying to make sense of what you're seeing, a young person wondering if what you're experiencing has a name, or a teacher noticing something feels off — this one's for you.

They cover the signs parents and teachers often spot first (including one you really might not expect), the most common OCD themes in younger people, and how to have those early, important conversations without making things worse. There's also a genuinely hopeful message for young people who are in the thick of it right now.

On the practical side: how to find a good therapist (and the questions to ask to make sure they actually know their stuff), what to expect from therapy sessions, how ERP works with younger clients, what to do if your young person refuses help, family accommodations, and co-regulation — because OCD is a whole-family thing.

Plus: listener questions, the Exposure Lab, a brilliant book recommendation for the trickiest of situations, and Laura's reassurance game which is exactly as chaotic as it sounds.

Podcast by: 

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Timestamps:

01:35 – Hello and Greg's Anatomy facts

04:13 – Introduction to OCD in children and young people

07:05 – Just Checking merch

07:47 – Brain Spam 🧠

12:44 – Signs a parent might notice in their young person

18:22 – Key OCD themes in children and young people

22:49 – What early signs can a teacher spot?

26:50 – Jess's message of hope

28:05 – Laura's tip for young people who think they have OCD

31:50 – How to talk to your child about OCD concerns

36:40 – Family accommodations

39:18 – Co-regulation and modelling for your young person

40:40 – What if your young person doesn't want help?

43:38 – An amazing book for parents in this situation

46:00 – Tips for finding the right therapist

47:00 – What to expect in therapy and what gets shared with parents

49:00 – How ERP works with young people

52:00 – What if someone isn't ready for ERP?

55:48 – OCD onset and how to access help

1:00:30 – Tips on what you can request

1:02:14 – Medication for OCD

1:02:44 – Advocating as a parent and key resources

1:04:45 – Questions to scope out a good therapist

1:06:30 – Listener questions

1:08:52 – Exposure Lab

1:12:40 – Weekly Wins

1:13:26 – Goodbyes

📚 Resources mentioned:

Because We Are Bad – Lily Bailey

Natasha Daniels' videos

How Josh Defeated the Worry Villain- www.reimaginetherapy.co.uk

Can I Tell You About OCD? – Amita Jassi

OCD Tools to Help You Fight Back – CBT workbook for young people

Break Free from Childhood Anxiety and OCD – Eli Lebowitz

The SPACE Programme

Laura's website: Counselling Service North London | Laura Mole Counselling | England 

OCD-UK: ocduk.org

OCD Action: ocdaction.org.uk

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd

Please check out our privacy policy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

If you Googled something terrifying about your baby and ended up here, you're in the right place. This week Jess and Laura are talking about one of the most misunderstood and underdiagnosed presentations of OCD — perinatal OCD. Whether you're pregnant, postpartum, or supporting someone who is, this one's for you.

We get into why OCD loves to latch onto the thing you love most, what's actually happening in your brain and body during the perinatal period, and why so many people suffer in silence.

We talk about that fear directly, and what advocating for you actually looks like.

From the most common perinatal presentations to what therapy actually looks like in this season of life — including why regulation comes before challenging OCD — this episode covers the full picture. We also talk maternity leave grief, secure attachment, parenting values, and we close with a note from someone who has been where you might be right now, and come out the other side.

You are not a bad parent. Your thoughts are not your character. And you are not alone in this.

Podcast by 

Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapist

and

Jessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapist

Edited by Christian Nickson

Time stamps

00:36 Shout out to followers

01:10 Things you might have Googled with perinatal OCD

02:26 Introductions and shout out to Josh Fletcher

09:48 Introduction to perinatal OCD

10:44 Brain Spam

13:30 Prioproceptive input

15:50 Matrescence and mental health

20:00 Increased responsibility and vulnerability to OCD

22:05 Hormone shifts and OCD

23:52 Why OCD latches to the baby

24:30 Traumatic births and what you expect to feel

26:50 Birth planning and expectations

29:40 Preparing for pregnancy with OCD

31:30 Perinatal mental health team involvement

23:45 Building a village

36:07 Main OCD presentations in OCD

38:30 How common these intrusive thoughts are

39:20 What makes it OCD

42:30 Why we need more awareness of this

44:00 What if they report things to social services?

46:00 How we can advocate for you

48:00 What risk do we check more?

49:33 Options for support

50:55 Therapy for perinatal OCD; how it looks

52:00 Regulation before challenging OCD

54:00 Grieving maternity leave ideas and living like you value

58:21 Secure attachments and OCD

1:01:50 Prioritising parenting values

1:04:03 Responsive self-care lists

1:04:40 A note from someone who is recovered from perinatal OCD

1:05:23 Questions from the listeners

1:08:25 Key takeaways for perinatal OCD

1:09:00 Helpful resources and support websites

1:10:24 Exposure Lab

1:12:48 Weekly Wins

Get in Touch:

Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:

Email us at ocdcollectiveuk@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpod

For our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocd and her perinatal page @jess_the_therapy_mum

Please check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing 

Content Warnings:

We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. 

Disclaimer 

This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.

Resources mentioned:

Jess’ perinatal mental health Instagram: @jess_the_therapy_mum

Birth Rights: Birthrights - your human rights during pregnancy and maternity care 

OCDUK: OCD-UK | A national OCD charity, run by, and for people with lived experience of OCD 

IOCDF Perinatal OCD Resource Centre: Perinatal OCD Resource Center To Help People Find Relief 

Maternal OCD UK: Welcome to Maternal OCD 

Postpartum Support International: Postpartum Support International - PSI 

The Breastfeeding Network (medication guidance): Drugs in Breastmilk factsheets - The Breastfeeding Network