Therapist Training with Dr. Steven Phillipson
We recently had the pleasure of hosting a very special therapist training session with Dr. Steven Phillipson, a name that many in the OCD treatment community will already know and admire. Dr. Phillipson is one of the leading experts in the field, and this rare opportunity to learn directly from him was not one to miss!
The three-hour online workshop, held on Monday 8th September 2025, was designed for therapists, counsellors, psychologists, and other mental health professionals with experience in working with OCD. The focus? Understanding and applying Dr. Phillipson’s approach to the treatment of Pure-O, a form of OCD characterised by intrusive thoughts and mental rituals rather than overt compulsions.
Over the course of the training, Dr. Phillipson guided participants through the key elements of behavioural therapy for OCD, including Exposure and Ritual Prevention (ERP), mindfulness, and psychoeducation. He broke down the neurological basis of OCD, explored why ERP remains the gold standard of treatment, and explained how themes within Pure-O connect to different personality styles.
Dr. Phillipson discussed what he considers the single most important word in OCD treatment: irrelevance. His exploration of how to help clients demonstrate irrelevance to their malfunctioning brain offered a refreshing and empowering perspective for practitioners.
The session closed with an interactive Q&A, giving attendees the chance to discuss specific clinical challenges and case examples, and to reflect on how these ideas can strengthen their own therapeutic work.
We’re incredibly grateful to Dr. Phillipson for sharing his time, expertise, and insight with our community. It’s not every day you get to learn directly from one of the pioneers of ERP for Pure-O, and this session truly delivered.
If you missed the live workshop, don’t worry, the on-demand version of this training is now available. You can find it here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/phillipson
Participants will have six months’ access to the recording, making it easy to revisit and reflect on the material at your own pace.
A huge thank you again to Dr. Steven Phillipson, and to everyone who joined us for this rare and inspiring training.
