The treatment found to be the most effective in successfully treating OCD is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), although some people find they also need the additional support of medications to help them through the therapy, these will usually be SSRI medications (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor Medications). 

CBT is most often provided by a psychologist or psychiatrist. It is recognised that when people feel highly anxious they think differently, and how they think affects how they behave. An anxious person can become locked into a particular pattern of thinking which continuously generates irrational and fear-based thoughts and behaviours. It is the recognition of the role thoughts play in OCD which underpins Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.  Using this framework the therapist assists the person to challenge irrational thoughts and behaviours.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) should also form part of the CBT treatment, this involves being exposed in a very structured way with the support of a therapist to what makes you feel anxious, and not doing checking or other rituals after.

Therapy can take quite a while as the therapist and patient work together to isolate and work through the issues surrounding obsessive compulsive disorder. By the time a person seeks treatment they are usually finding that OCD has become a considerable disruptive force in their lives. They will generally be looking for something which will provide relief in the short-term. As therapy is more a process of unfolding understanding, this type of treatment can cause the person to become impatient and they may not see the relevance or connection between what happens in therapy and their OCD symptoms. Sometimes the things discussed in therapy can increase anxiety. The patient can feel as if they are getting worse not better, but this is part of therapy as the patient confronts the type of issues involved in their condition. Of course another reason for anxiety to increase is that the therapy is not working or that the patient and therapist have not been able to establish a good relationship. In either case (providing every effort has been made), it is best to find another doctor.