I am a licensed psychologist currently practicing in South Portland Maine. I specialize in treating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and related conditions such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Tourette's Disorder, and Trichotillomania. I am also interested in application of cognitive therapy to a range of other problems including depression, anxiety disorders and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.

What is OCD

What is BDD

For those looking for a therapist to treat OCD and related problems I have a link to an article by Dr. Bruce Mansbridge.

I add other articles and material from presentations to this site regularly.

I have written articles about some problems related to OCD:

Here is an article on Skin picking .

Here is an article on Hoarding a common subtype of OCD.

Here is the text of a talk on cognitive conceptualization of anxiety and psychosis from a talk I gave in Italy in 2006 Conceptualization Talk and slides to accompany it Conceptualization Slides

For those with an interest in cognitive therapy of psychotic disorders and schizophrenia I have put together an annotated bibliography. I make additions to the bibliography regularly. It can be found at Psychosis Bibliography

Here is a brief article on the importance of doing exposure .

Here is the handout from a talk I gave at the 2007 OC Foundation annual conference on treatment resistant OCD and BDD. OCF 2007 Slides

On a slightly different topic here are slides from a talk I gave in 2007 on nightmares. Treating Nightmares.
To view these you may need a program capable of viewing PowerPoint slides. There is a free viewer available from Microsoft. I recommend Open Office which is an office suite program that is free. It is a substitute for Microsoft Office and the price is right.

There is a tool used in cognitive therapy called a dysfunctional thought record (DTR). There are a number of different versions of this tool from different authors. I have provided a one that you can use DTR and instructions .

Here is a sample of a DTR filled out by someone with OCD and a compulsion involving checking.

Here is a sample of a DTR filled out by someone who has a problem with voices.

Services provided

I provide psychological services including individual consultation, cognitive and cognitive behavioral therapy as well as life coaching services from my office in South Portland ME. Consultation, therapy and coaching services may also be provided by Internet (including email and video conferencing) or phone to individuals in other locations. For more information on coaching Click Coaching Information

You can ask a question or send me a comment on a mailform by clicking the here:
or you can send email to Dr. Claiborn

To arrange a consultation, coaching or make a payment click Arrangements

The Odd Treating the Id
This link includes a list resources around the country.