Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) Therapists in New Westminster, BC
Tyler Fong
Canadian Certified Counsellor
I hope to help facilitate your next steps of understanding and growth; we will work to reduce negative symptoms, process difficult experiences, and move toward your goals. I offer short-term and longer-term counselling through a variety of evidence-based approaches. We will collaborate on the style that best suites you. I offer Individual and couples counselling for adults or youth aged 12+.
Amelia Traer
Pre-Licensed Professional, BA, PsiChi
My work is shaped by CBT, ACT, DBT, ERP, and trauma-informed, mindfulness-based approaches. I support clients with anxiety, burnout, OCD and phobias, ADHD, grief, life transitions, women's health, and chronic health concerns. Our therapy space adapts, with a focus on connection, emotional regulation, and practical strategies that fit your life.
Sarah Perone
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
I help individuals and couples break painful relationship cycles so they can feel more connected, secure, and confident. I support concerns like recurrent conflict, relationship anxiety (and ROCD), limerence, and resentment. Using an attachment- and evidence-based approach, I offer warm, non-judgmental virtual therapy across Ontario. Book a free 15-minute consultation to get started.
Renata Roma
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
I offer support for individuals dealing with anxiety, including high-functioning anxiety, OCD, intrusive thoughts, and phobias, including animal-related fears. Many of my clients come in with relationship struggles. I also specialize in pet loss, and anxiety related to pets.
Colombe Mazerolle
Licensed Counselling Therapist - C
Are you struggling with intense emotions that feel overwhelming, ongoing conflict or disconnection in relationships or feeling stuck in survival mode or repeating self-sabotaging patterns? I'm Colombe, therapist at Ember Counselling Therapy, and I help individuals and couples build emotional balance, heal from past pain, and create healthier relationships.
Ed Chen M.Ed, RCC-ACS, CCC
Registered Clinical Counsellor, Registered Clinical Supervisor, Canadian Certified Counsellor
Ed is a BCACC registered, CCPA certified clinical counsellor, and a BCACC Approved Clinical Supervisor. Ed has extensive experience in delivering Dialectical Behavior Therapy to high-risk adults, youths and families experiencing concerns such as suicidality, self-harm, impulsivity, depression, anxiety, trauma, and addictions.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
What is ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention)?
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold-standard, evidence-based treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It involves two components: exposure — gradually and deliberately confronting situations, thoughts, or objects that trigger obsessional anxiety — and response prevention — refraining from the compulsion (the ritual or avoidance behaviour) that would normally reduce the anxiety. Through repeated practice, the person learns that the feared outcome does not occur and that the anxiety diminishes on its own without needing the compulsion.
How does ERP work for OCD?
OCD involves a cycle: an intrusive thought triggers anxiety, a compulsion (ritual, checking, reassurance-seeking) temporarily reduces the anxiety — but at the cost of reinforcing the belief that the thought is dangerous and the compulsion is necessary. ERP breaks this cycle by interrupting the compulsion, allowing the anxiety to peak and then naturally subside, and teaching the nervous system that the obsessional thought does not require action. The mechanism is partly habituation and partly inhibitory learning — new learning that the feared outcome does not occur.
Is ERP only for OCD?
ERP is also used for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), health anxiety, hoarding disorder, tic disorders (as part of CBIT), and some eating disorder presentations where avoidance maintains the symptoms. Exposure (without the response prevention component) is a core component of treatment for specific phobias, social anxiety, PTSD, and generalized anxiety. The principles of facing feared stimuli while refraining from avoidance underlie many anxiety treatments beyond OCD specifically.
What does ERP treatment look like?
ERP is typically delivered over 12–20 sessions following an assessment and psychoeducation phase. Therapist and client collaboratively develop a hierarchy — a graduated list of feared situations from least to most anxiety-provoking — and work up through the hierarchy systematically, practicing exposures in session and as homework. The therapist coaches the client through exposures, helping them tolerate the anxiety without performing the compulsion. Progress is tracked session by session. Daily homework practice is essential.
How do I find an ERP-trained therapist in Canada?
Not all therapists are trained in ERP — and a therapist who treats OCD without ERP is likely to be much less effective, regardless of their other skills. The International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) maintains a therapist directory at iocdf.org and is searchable by country, including Canada. OCD Canada is a national organization with resources and a directory. Theralist also lists therapists who specialize in OCD and ERP. When contacting a potential therapist, ask directly whether they use ERP and approximately what percentage of their clients have OCD.