The clinicians at the OCD & Anxiety Program of Southern California, located in Los Angeles, deliver individualized evidence-based treatment for individuals struggling with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders, phobias, and depression. The therapists specialize in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), particularly Exposure and Response Prevention (E/RP), which is considered to be the gold standard for the treatment of anxiety and related disorders. The treatment team also utilizes other effective treatment interventions, such as mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Most recently, in the Fall of 2023 and Spring of 2024, our entire treatment team was also trained in delivering Bergen 4 Day Treatment and in using the effective treatment techniques that are used in that treatment format.
Patients and staff work collaboratively. The cognitive-behavior therapist and patient design the treatment plan together and then work to implement it in realistic situations. Home visit options are also available. By engaging in treatment in real life settings the therapists maximize treatment effectiveness and build confidence in the individual to maintain treatment gains post discharge.
We offer Outpatient and Intensive Outpatient Services:
- The Intensive Outpatient Programs are designed for clients who are either unable to access outpatient treatment or are not benefiting from their current outpatient treatment.
- The Outpatient Clinic at the OCD & Anxiety Program of Southern California provides diagnostic and treatment consultations, and evidence-based individual CBT for children, adolescents, and adults.
Part of the OCD & Anxiety Program of Southern California’s mission is to advance treatment outcome research in the field of anxiety disorders. These findings demonstrate that our clients, in general, benefit greatly from receiving treatment in our treatment programs that are designed to fit their individual needs.
Leadership
Program History
Dr. Naomi Zwecker, PhD, and Dr. Thröstur Björgvinsson, PhD, ABPP co-founded the OCD and Anxiety Program of Southern California in 2016 in order to provide specialized, evidence based and compassionate care to people in the Los Angeles area. They are passionate about providing effective evidence-based treatment for OCD and anxiety. Collectively, they have over 40 years of experience in treating anxiety disorders. They focus on building a team of well-trained expert clinicians and creating a warm and compassionate environment that fosters a collaborative team approach.
The OCD & Anxiety Program of Southern California offers intensive outpatient for both adults and adolescents as well as outpatient services. The treatment team is now well versed and trained in providing the Bergen 4 Day Treatment (B4DT) to patients based in Los Angeles, as well as around the globe.
In addition to delivering treatment, we actively collaborate with the original Bergen team in Norway to support the international dissemination and training of clinicians. In partnership with the Bergen team, we will offer B4DT training programs in North America and internationally for English-speaking clinicians in 2026.
As of early 2026, clinical teams in 13 countries have been trained in providing B4DT: Norway, Iceland, Singapore, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, the United States, Ecuador, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, and New Zealand. Furthermore, Teams from the following countries are scheduled to receive training next: China, India, Belgium, Turkey, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Malaysia.
The OCD & Anxiety Program of Southern California is the only program to offer the B4DT in the USA and currently is the international training center for teams all over the world to come and receive training in this effective treatment format.
Employment Opportunities
We are seeking applicants for a therapist at the OCD & Anxiety Program of Southern California, located in Santa Monica, CA. The OCD & Anxiety Program is an intensive specialty Cognitive Behavior Therapy focused program. Currently, we offer two levels of care: outpatient services and an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for children, adolescents, and adults. We specialize in the treatment of OCD, anxiety disorders, and depression utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy with a particular emphasis on exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD.
The position of Behavior Therapist includes assessing patient’s symptoms and planning and implementing individual cognitive behavioral therapy for outpatients and IOP patients. We also expect the Behavior Therapist to take an active role in our dynamic team, support in our ongoing efforts to improve our therapeutic services, and participate actively our outreach efforts.
We would prefer a candidate with CBT training and experience in treating OCD and anxiety disorders, and ideally, the candidate would have experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. We are looking for a registered psychological assistant in the state of California or LCSW, LMSW, LMFT, or a licensed PsyD or PhD in clinical psychology in the state of California.
Start date: Immediate
Benefits: Full-time positions include competitive salary, vacation/sick leave, and health insurance. Due to the demands of our services, we also offer various part-time options.
To apply: Send a statement of interest, curriculum vitae, and letters of reference to: nzwecker@socalocd.org.
Recent Publications and Presentations from the team at the OCD & Anxiety Program of Southern California focusing on ways to enhance treatment efficacy and international dissemination of treatments.
Presentations
- Dr. Björgvinsson participated in a Symposia titled, “Understanding and Enhancing the Immediate and Long Term Effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for OCD” at the 2024 Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Annual Conference, April 11-14, 2024, in Boston, MA.
- Dr. Björgvinsson and Dr. Hansen presented a State-of-the-Art Clinician Session titled, “The Status of International Dissemination of the Bergen 4-Day OCD Treatment: Key Elements of Effective Implementation of the Treatment” at the 2024 Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) Annual Conference, April 11-14, 2024, in Boston, MA
Publications
- Lee, E., Wetterneck, C., McIngvale, E., Williams, M., & Björgvinsson, T. (in press). Rethinking unacceptable thoughts: Validation of an expanded version of the dimensional obsessive-compulsive scale (DOCS). Behavior Therapy.
- Godfrey, A., Heinrich, A., McIngvale, E., Sy, J., Wheaton, M., & Björgvinsson, T. (in press). Improvement in Distress Tolerance as a mechanism of symptom reduction during intensive exposure and response prevention based treatment for OCD. Behavior Therapy.
- Kvale, G., Hansen, B., Björgvinsson, T., Børtveit, T., Hagen, K., Haseth, S., Beate Kristensen, U., Launes, G., Ressler, K. J., Solem, S., Strand, A., van den Heuvel, O. A., & Öst, L. G. (2018). Successfully treating 90 patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in eight days: The Bergen 4-day treatment. BMC Psychiatry, 18, 1-9.
- Davíðsdóttir, S., Sigurjónsdóttir, Ó., Ludvigsdóttir, S., Hansen, B., Laukvik, I., Hagen, K., Björgvinsson, T., & Kvale G. (2019). Implementation of the Bergen 4-day treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder in Iceland. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 16, 33-38.
- Klein, K., Harris, E., Björgvinsson, T., & Kertz S. (2020). A network analysis of symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Depression in a clinical sample. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 27(2), 100556. doi: 10.1016/j.jocrd.2020.100556
- Wetterneck, C., Rouleau, T., Williams, M., Valley, A., La Torre, J., & Björgvinsson, T. (2021). A New Scrupulosity Scale for the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS): validation with clinical and non-clinical samples. Behavior Therapy, 52(6), 1449-1463. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2021.04.001
- Wheaton, M., Ward, H., Silber, A., McIngvale, E., & Björgvinsson, T. (2021). How is the COVID-19 pandemic affecting individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 81, 102410. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102410
- Snorrason, I., Keuthen, N., Lee, H-J., Beard, C., & Björgvinsson, T. (2022). Skin picking scale-revised: diagnostic accuracy and optimal cut-off scores in the university and psychiatry settings. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 34(9), 100743. doi:10.1016/j.jocrd.2022.100743
- Wheaton, M., McIngvale, E., Van Meter, A., & Björgvinsson, T. (2023). Quality of the therapeutic working alliance as a factor in intensive residential treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatry Research, 33(4), 442-454. doi: 10.1080/10503307.2022.2138618
- Hjelle, K., Eide, T., Thorsen, A., Kvale, G., Hagen, K., Snorrason, I., Björgvinsson, T., & Hansen B. (2023). The Bergen 4-day treatment for panic disorder: adapting to COVID-19 restrictions with a hybrid approach of face-to-face and videoconference modalities. BMC Psychiatry, 23, 570. doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-05062-7
Clients Testimonials
Today I participated in the 1 Million Steps 4 OCD with my family.
Today I had a Saturday with my family that I never dreamed to be possible because of my debilitating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Today was my first day out of Bergen 4 Day OCD Treatment and my world has gone from a grayscale of predictable despair to bright beautiful technicolor IN LITERARLLY 4 DAYS.
If you are suffering from OCD (especially if you believe you’ve gone as far as you can with coping mechanism, talk therapy, and non-effective exposure treatment) please follow the link below [or sign up for Bergen 4-Day OCD Treatment] to find the “you” that you think you’ve lost to OCD.”
L. – Former Houston
– Bergen participantMy experience at the Bergen 4 Day program was both challenging and rewarding. I’ve struggled with OCD for a couple of years now, and I can certainly say that the program pushed me to confront scenarios I would have avoided on my own. I made more progress in dealing with my fears in these four days than in the entire past year. It was also extremely important that the people were great. I felt safe with the specialists at the program and enjoyed interacting with the other patients. The program was fun, which amazed me given how un-fun OCD and ERP are.
K. – Former Los Angeles
– Bergen participantAs a clinician, educator, and someone who has lived with OCD for most of my adult life, the B4D program helped me make a huge leap forward in my growth. I am now learning what life can be like as a full person. I highly recommend this program to everyone struggling with OCD and anxiety, no matter where they are in their recovery. My team were both partners and collaborators in this challenging work. The therapy and activities were tailor-made to my needs, and I felt heard, supported and seen when it was the hardest. They regularly surrounded me with kindness, compassion, and humor while working with me to both unpack and lean into my fear. As a strengths-based program, I have come to reframe my view of myself and my brain as normal. Thanks to my partnership with B4D and all the clinicians and patients that have informed the evolution of this program, I now see that I am capable of anything.
Alex – Former Los Angeles
– Bergen participantThere are no words for the fear OCD had on me. I was ashamed of myself, living in constant anxiety, and had accepted that this would be the state of my being for the rest of my life. A state where I was afraid to be a mother, afraid to be alone, afraid of every possible “What if?”. When I was approached with the Bergen 4-Day Treatment I was desperate for any form of treatment but incredibly apprehensive that anything would work for me. Almost my entire first day of the Bergen treatment I cried out of shame, fear, hopelessness and just hatred for myself. On the last day, I cried out of joy, happiness, acceptance and freedom. I could feel my “old self” starting to break free already. My life was stollen from me with OCD, and I’m incredibly grateful to have it back. There are no words for my gratitude and appreciation for the Bergen 4-day treatment program and for the incredible clinicians that led me through it
K. – Former Los Angeles
– Bergen participantThe Bergen 4-Day Treatment program has changed my life in ways I never could’ve imagined. I came to Bergen after my first year of college, and was struggling with extremely severe OCD. Each day was a struggle to even get through, and I felt so hopeless. My life had become consumed by OCD, and I lost sight of everything I once enjoyed. The Bergen 4-Day Treatment proved to me how strong and brave I am. The team I worked with was so kind and so supportive, that it makes me teary-eyed thinking of my happy memories during the program (good tears!). Through all the education and tools Bergen gave me, I truly learned how to take back my life. It sounds crazy, but I actually had fun while doing my exposure tasks during the program, and it was so exciting to be able to do the things I had been afraid of for years. I learned that OCD is not so scary, but it is just a super clever, and super super annoying trickster. And after leaving Bergen, I felt so full of hope. Most importantly, I felt confident in myself. I had learned to be kind to myself during such a life-changing time, and to stay motivated to do the things that I want to do, not what OCD wants. I still think about my flight home, when I was just sitting and smiling, thinking about how excited I was to live and have my life back. Bergen is such a special place, and I cannot recommend it enough. Now, I am at school having a blast. I’m so excited by my classes, I’ve made tons of new friends, I’ve tried new things, and I truly feel like me again.
Avery-Former Los Angeles
– Bergen participantI subscribe to many other testimonies. OCD has been a prison for me for half of my life. And now it’s over. I’m amazed. My family and friends also. It’s like a “magic stick”. How can such a short time have such an huge effect on us ? To me what really made the difference was that WE as patients were in the center of the program, that WE set our goals and that the therapy went on OUR rhythm. The goodwilleness, patience and understanding of the therapists, the group talks, the enthusiasm from and for the other patients. I felt really good with the therapists and other patient(s). I felt safe, I felt understood and I felt of course helped. I thank them so much.
MV – Former Bergen
Los Angeles participant