Specialized assessment, exposure and response prevention (ERP) and medication management for obsessive-compulsive disorder — in İzmir or online.
English speakers in İzmir living with obsessive-compulsive disorder can get evidence-based psychiatric treatment from Dr. Ömer Orhun Ercan without a language barrier. Care combines a detailed diagnostic assessment, exposure and response prevention (ERP) — the psychotherapy with the strongest evidence for OCD — and medication when appropriate, all coordinated by one clinician. Appointments are available in person in Güzelbahçe or online across Turkey and abroad, and many people with OCD improve substantially with structured treatment.
In everyday speech, 'a bit OCD' has come to mean tidy or particular. The clinical reality is very different. OCD pairs intrusive thoughts a person does not want — about contamination, harm, blasphemy, sexuality, catastrophic mistakes — with rituals performed to cancel the anxiety those thoughts create. The thoughts are distressing precisely because they clash with the person's values; a gentle parent tormented by images of harming their child is a classic presentation, not a warning sign about character.
The compulsions are not always visible. Alongside washing and checking, many people perform purely mental rituals — reviewing, counting, silently praying, replaying conversations to be certain nothing terrible was said. Because the rituals briefly relieve the anxiety, the brain learns to demand them again, and the loop tightens. On average, people live with OCD for years before receiving proper treatment, often because shame keeps the strangest-feeling thoughts unspoken. A psychiatrist has heard them all, and naming them accurately is the first relief.
For expats, students and remote workers in İzmir, relocation can feed OCD in specific ways. Contamination fears flare in an environment where the water, food handling and healthcare system are unfamiliar. Checking rituals attach themselves to high-stakes paperwork — visas, residence permits, tax documents in a language you half-read. And the reassurance networks people quietly rely on, a parent or old friend who answers 'are you sure it's fine?' for the hundredth time, are now in another time zone.
Getting treatment in English matters unusually much in OCD. Obsessions are made of language — exact words, precise fears, fine distinctions between 'I had a thought' and 'I wanted it'. Explaining a taboo intrusive thought is hard enough in your mother tongue; doing it through a translation layer often means it simply never gets said, and untreated themes stay untreated. Working directly in English lets the assessment reach the actual content of the disorder.
The psychotherapy with the strongest evidence base for OCD is exposure and response prevention (ERP), a specialized form of CBT. In ERP you and the clinician build a graded plan to approach the situations that trigger obsessions — touching the doorknob, leaving the house after checking once, allowing the intrusive thought to be present — while deliberately not performing the ritual. Done step by step, at a pace agreed together, the anxiety rises and then genuinely falls without the compulsion, and the brain relearns that the alarm was false. It is demanding work, and it is where lasting change tends to come from.
Medication is the other well-supported pillar. Serotonergic antidepressants (SSRIs) can meaningfully reduce the intensity of obsessions and the pull of compulsions; in OCD they are often used at higher doses and evaluated over longer periods than in depression, which is worth knowing so early weeks are not misread as failure. Because Dr. Ercan is a medical doctor, ERP and prescribing sit in one coordinated plan rather than being split across providers, and treatment begins with a 75-minute assessment that maps your specific obsessional themes and rituals. For many people, the combination of ERP and medication works better than either alone.
The gold-standard psychotherapy for OCD: gradually facing triggers while resisting rituals, at an agreed pace, until the obsessional alarm loses its force. Conducted in English.
Serotonergic antidepressants selected and monitored by a medical doctor, with realistic guidance on OCD-specific dosing and timelines.
Cognitive work on the beliefs that inflate obsessions — overestimated threat, inflated responsibility, the idea that thoughts equal actions — alongside ERP.
ERP and medication coordinated in one plan, with secure online sessions available across Turkey and abroad; exposure practice can be guided in your real home environment.
In-person in Güzelbahçe, İzmir — on the western coast, with free parking. Around 25–35 minutes by car from central districts such as Alsancak and Konak, and convenient for Urla, Seferihisar and Çeşme.
Online consultations in English are available across Turkey and abroad via secure video — see online psychiatry.
Yes. Assessment, ERP sessions and medication follow-up are all available in English. Because obsessions hinge on exact wording and fine-grained fears, being able to describe them directly in your own language makes treatment considerably more precise.
No. Intrusive thoughts about harm, sexuality or religion are a recognized symptom of OCD, and they are distressing precisely because they contradict your values. A psychiatric assessment treats them as symptoms to be understood, not confessions — and OCD with taboo themes responds to the same evidence-based treatment as any other form.
Not always. ERP alone helps many people. Medication is worth discussing when symptoms are severe, when rituals consume large parts of the day, or when ERP alone has not brought enough relief. If an SSRI is recommended, the OCD-specific dosing and timeline are explained, and the decision is made together and reviewed regularly.
Yes. Online ERP is well supported and has a practical advantage: many triggers — the stove, the front door, the bathroom sink — are in your home, so exposures can be practiced live in the environment where the rituals actually happen. Secure video sessions are available across Turkey and abroad.
A typical course of ERP runs several months of regular sessions, with practice between appointments doing much of the work. If medication is used, its effect in OCD builds gradually and is assessed over a longer window than in depression. Many people see meaningful reduction in symptoms within the first few months, and gains are consolidated as treatment continues.
The first session is used to understand your situation and agree on a personalized plan — in person in Güzelbahçe, or online from wherever you are.
This page was prepared and reviewed by Ömer Orhun Ercan, MD — Psychiatrist (Uzm. Dr.). It is for informational purposes only and does not replace a medical examination, diagnosis or treatment.