Out-of-Control Behavior Therapy
When behaviors feel out of control, it’s not a failure of discipline—it’s often a sign of unhealed trauma.
Healing means understanding the roots of these behaviors, not just trying to stop them. Therapy helps bring compassion, clarity, and regulation back to your life.
Understanding Out-of-Control Behavior
I use the term Out of Control Behavior (OCB) instead of addiction, because it offers a more compassionate and accurate way to describe what’s happening.
OCB is any behavior that feels compulsive, repetitive, and hard to stop—especially when it leads to shame. Even if you know it’s not good for you, and you’ve promised yourself to change, the behavior keeps happening. Over time, this can leave you feeling hopeless and alone.
This struggle can often be understood as a conflict between two internal systems:
The affective system, which drives automatic desires and impulses without conscious control
The executive system, which helps us evaluate consequences and make deliberate choices
When these systems are out of sync, the urge can override your ability to think clearly or act according to your values. Therapy helps restore that balance—so you can regain control with understanding, not shame.
Signs of OCB
- You’ve promised to make a change—eat better, stop the behavior—but the urge takes over.
- You act on the impulse, then feel shame, guilt, and self-loathing.
- You feel out of control, like your rational mind disappears in the moment.
- You wonder, “Why do I keep doing this?” but don’t have a clear answer.
How I Can Help With OCB
I help patients with a “shame-reduction process” that allows them to understand their behavior, beliefs, feelings and thoughts with self-compassion.
My integrative approach includes:
- Somatic Mindful Experiential Therapy
- EMDR, including The DuTur Protocol (Desensitization of Triggers and Urge Reprocessing)
- Braun-Harvey & Vigorito’s OCSB Treatment Model
- Compassionate exploration of underlying beliefs and emotions
In using this approach patients are deepening their insight into the experiences that drive their feelings, thoughts and behaviors and are also learning to regulate their urges, without blame and shame.
Patients emerge with more adaptive beliefs about themselves as they are developing compassion for their story. Executive functioning is restored as the meaning of their behavior is revealed.
Curious if we're a good fit?
Reach out to schedule a free 15-minute consultation.