Online ACT for OCD & Misophonia
Austin, Dripping Springs, and virtual TX/FL
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for OCD and Misophonia
You don't have to win the argument with your brain to get your life back.
That's the premise of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and it's why it works so well alongside exposure-based treatment for both OCD and misophonia.
What is ACT?
ACT isn't about talking yourself out of intrusive thoughts or convincing yourself that a trigger sound isn't that bad.
It's about changing your relationship to the thought or the sound so it stops running your life, whether or not it ever fully goes away.
The core moves are:
1. Cognitive defusion (unhooking from a thought instead of debating it)
2. Acceptance (making room for discomfort instead of fighting it)
3. Values-based action (doing what matters to you even when it's uncomfortable).
Uncertainty and action can coexist. That's not a consolation prize, it's the actual goal.
How ACT Helps with OCD
OCD thrives on the argument.
It asks a question, you try to answer it, and the compulsion is born the moment you engage.
ACT interrupts that cycle by teaching you to notice the thought as a thought, not a verdict, and to act on your values instead of on the demand for certainty.
How ACT Helps with Misophonia
Misophonia research, including work from Dr. Michael Twohig's lab at Utah State, points to ACT as a genuinely promising approach because the goal isn't to eliminate the sound reaction.
It's changing what you do in response to it.
That distinction matters.
You can't always control your environment or your nervous system's initial reaction to a trigger sound.
What you can build is a different relationship to that reaction, more willingness, less urgency to escape, confront, or control, and a clearer sense of what you want your life to look like, even on days when the sounds show up.
With Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), you can…
Build psychological flexibility so intrusive thoughts lose their grip without needing to be resolved
Support and reinforce ERP, since willingness to sit with discomfort is the engine that makes exposure work
Help you identify what actually matters to you, so treatment isn't just about suffering less, it's about living more
Reduce the exhausting habit of mentally reviewing, checking, or seeking reassurance from your own thoughts
What to Expect with ACT
ACT sessions are practical and experiential, not just talk.
We'll work with defusion techniques you can use in the moment a trigger hits, values clarification so treatment stays anchored to what matters to you, and willingness exercises that build your capacity to stay present instead of escaping.
This isn't insight for its own sake.
Every piece connects back to how you actually want to be living.
Why The And Way Therapy?
Kelsey Blahnik, LCSW-S, built The And Way around exactly this kind of both/and thinking, discomfort and growth, acceptance and change.
OCD and misophonia are still widely misunderstood, and ACT gives us a way to help clients build a life that isn't shrinking around their symptoms while we do the harder work of treatment underneath.
We're insurance-based, with in-person options in Austin and virtual sessions across Texas and Florida, because evidence-based specialty care should be reachable, not just available.
Questions?
FAQs about ACT
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No. ACT works well as a complement to ERP, building the willingness and psychological flexibility that make exposure work sustainable, not as a stand-alone substitute.
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Yes, that's actually where ACT is strongest. It's built for situations you can't fully control, helping you change your response instead of requiring you to change your environment.
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Misophonia research is still developing, and ACT-based approaches are one of the more actively studied frameworks, including current research out of Utah State University.
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Yes. We're an insurance-based practice because accessible, evidence-based specialty care shouldn't be limited to self-pay.