Editor’s Observe: Our July 2025 mini-series on the BCC Grace and Fact weblog is designed so as to add some assets to your counselor’s toolbox. On this second article, Lucy Ann Moll gives a case research and homework task for serving to the OCD struggler reply within the second. In different contributions to the sequence, Rush Witt shares a plan to assist counselees disconnect from their smartphones, Jim Newheiser gives 5 strategies for serving to the counselor enhance their data of Scripture to have the ability to use it spontaneously in a counseling scenario, and Garrett Higbee shares in regards to the Fruit to Root Diagnostic instrument to uncover not simply what is going on in an individual however why it’s occurring.
Obsessive-Compulsive Dysfunction (OCD) is a tormenting situation that impacts tens of millions of people, together with Christians who deeply need to honor God.[1] As a biblical counselor, you could be strolling with somebody who feels enslaved by obsessions and compulsions they imagine they should carry out to really feel protected, sure, or “proper” with God.[2]
Whereas long-term change includes renewing the center and thoughts via the Phrase (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:23), the OCD struggler additionally wants sensible assist in the second—these cases when the obsession hits and she or he feels determined for lasting solutions.
OCD, Outlined
OCD is usually misunderstood. At its core, OCD is an intense type of anxiousness that follows a predictable cycle. It begins with a set off—a scenario, picture, thought, or bodily sensation. That set off provides rise to an obsession, which is an intrusive and undesirable thought, picture, or urge that causes vital misery. To scale back the anxiousness, the particular person engages in a compulsion—a repetitive habits or psychological act meant to alleviate the anxiousness.
Compulsions might be outward and visual, like extreme handwashing or repeatedly checking a lock. They can be completely inner—reminiscent of mentally repeating a prayer, replaying a dialog to verify nothing flawed was stated, or trying to find reassurance by recalling or analyzing info (like previous web searches). These actions typically carry a quick sense of reduction, very similar to a dopamine hit. However the reduction doesn’t final, and the cycle begins once more. If left unchecked, this cycle turns into a well-worn sample that grows stronger over time.[3]
Meet Olivia
Many individuals—together with Christians—face OCD in multiple space. Olivia is one such instance. She’s a dedicated believer, actively concerned in her church, and has quietly battled OCD for years. Her obsessions and compulsions present up in three major areas: contamination, “good” OCD, and spiritual scrupulosity. Different OCD themes embody these which are “taboo,” reminiscent of hurt, sexual, and others which are tough to speak about and provoke deep disgrace.[4]
When Olivia touches one thing she believes is perhaps contaminated—like a doorknob—she feels overwhelming anxiousness and feels compelled to scrub her palms again and again. She additionally rereads emails and textual content messages dozens of instances, adjusting punctuation and wording till all the things feels precisely proper, fearing that one thing horrible would possibly occur if she sends it “flawed.”
However her most painful battle is non secular. Olivia always fears she could have dedicated the unpardonable sin. She worries that she must confess “only one extra time” as a way to really be forgiven by God.
Project for the OCD Sufferer
This homework task equips you to assist your counselee reply biblically and virtually when she or he is caught within the OCD cycle. It follows the 5R technique: Acknowledge, Reject, Exchange, Rehearse, and Rejoice. Woven into these steps is an easy however highly effective instrument: Delay, Pray, Obey.[5]
Acknowledge is step one. The counselee should study to establish when the OCD cycle begins. Olivia, as an example, started to acknowledge the early indicators of a “good” obsession when she would really feel a sudden sense of unease if gadgets on her desk had been even barely misaligned. She additionally observed a non secular unease after studying Scripture, fearing she had misunderstood it. Recognizing the intrusive thought—and naming it for what it’s—is important.
Reject follows. As soon as the thought is recognized, the counselee should actively reject the lie embedded within the obsession. Olivia, when confronted with the thought, “If I don’t confess once more, God will probably be disillusioned with me,” needed to reject it by affirming God’s character and her safe place in Christ.[6] This isn’t a flippant dismissal however a agency, faith-filled refusal to bow to concern. The counselee could say aloud (or silently), “This thought will not be from God. It doesn’t align with Scripture. I select to not imagine it.”
Exchange is the place the gospel brings actual transformation. As an alternative of merely making an attempt to push the anxious thought away, the counselee focuses on what’s true (Phil. 4:8)—reminiscent of, “This thought feels overwhelming, nevertheless it’s only a thought. It can’t hurt me.” They use a productive technique that helps disarm each obsessions and compulsions by filling their thoughts with fact.
That is the place the Delay–Pray–Obey technique is available in:
- Delay the compulsion. Whether or not the urge is to admit, wash, test, or mentally replay one thing, encourage the counselee to attend—begin with simply 30 seconds and regularly lengthen the time.
- Pray—not a ritualistic or anxiety-driven prayer, however a real prayer of religion. Olivia discovered energy in Isaiah 41:10 and prayed it when concern tried to take over.
- Obey by taking a easy outward step of affection. This counters OCD’s inward focus. Olivia, for instance, selected to ship a be aware of encouragement to a pal or assist her youngster with homework as a substitute of spiraling into rumination.
This gospel-centered technique helps shift the main target from concern to religion, and from self-focus to loving motion.
Rehearse is the following section. Simply as bodily remedy includes repeated apply to rebuild energy, non secular and psychological resilience develop via repetition. Encourage your counselee to maintain a journal. Every time they use Delay–Pray–Obey, have them document what occurred: What was the obsession? How lengthy did they delay? What fact did they pray? What act of obedience did they take? This course of reinforces fact and exhibits them that progress—even in small steps—is feasible. Over time, the obsessions and compulsions weaken in depth and frequency.
Lastly, Rejoice. OCD victims typically view progress in black and white phrases—they both failed or succeeded. Assist your counselee reframe their expertise via the lens of grace. If Olivia delayed her compulsion for 30 seconds earlier than giving in, that’s a win. If she prayed and turned to Scripture, even with ongoing anxiousness, that’s proof of religion. Rejoicing in small steps will not be minimizing the battle—it’s recognizing God’s grace at work. Titus 2:11-14 reminds us that the grace of God not solely saves but additionally trainsus to say “no” to ungodly wishes and “sure” to godliness. The coaching course of is simply that—a course of.
As a counselor, you possibly can gently remind your counselee that the objective will not be good management over their ideas however devoted dependence on Christ within the midst of them. Encourage them with 2 Corinthians 3:18—that as they behold the glory of the Lord, they’re being reworked. Actual victory over OCD within the second means selecting to dwell by religion, even when uncertainty stays.
Questions for Reflection
- In what methods can I persistently level my counselee to Scripture—like 2 Corinthians 3:18, Psalm 25, or Isaiah 41:10—as a supply of consolation, fact, and transformation?
- How can I virtually assist my counselee in making use of the Delay–Pray–Obey technique with out turning it into one other compulsion or inflexible rule?
[1] OCD impacts one in 40 adults (roughly 2.5%). A. M. Ruscio, D. J. Stein, W. T. Chiu, & R. C. Kessler, “The epidemiology of obsessive-compulsive dysfunction within the Nationwide Comorbidity Survey Replication,” Molecular Psychiatry, 15(1), 2010, 53-63, https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2008.94.
[2] The felt want for certainty and management turns into a coronary heart idol. See Michael R. Emlet, OCD: Freedom for the Obsessive-Compulsive (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2003), 32.
[3] Lucy Ann Moll, “Biblical Counseling and OCD,” March 9, 2018, https://www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2018/03/09/biblical-counseling-and-ocd/, Biblical Counseling Coalition, accessed June 19, 2025.
[4] Lucy Ann Moll, “Hope for Taboo OCD,” LucyAnnMoll.com, https://www.lucyannmoll.com/articles/hope-for-taboo-ocd, accessed June 19, 2025.
[5] Pat Quinn, “A Plan and a Path for OCD, Half 3,” August 10, 2022, https://www.biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2022/08/10/a-plan-and-a-path-for-ocd-part-three/, Biblical Counseling Coalition, accessed June 19, 2025.
[6] Lucy Ann Moll, “Beloved, Chosen, Safe,” LucyAnnMoll.com, https://www.lucyannmoll.com/articles/loved-chosen-secure, accessed June 19, 2025.
