Welcome to Steps Forward OCD by Louise Griffin, a Chartered Counselling Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland who currently works in Adult Mental Health services in the public health service. Louise founded this business in 2026 after realising that there was a gap in services for the provision of standardised, structured OCD group programmes.

Louise has long held a special interest in working with OCD, having started out her career volunteering as a facilitator for OCD Ireland support groups. It was here Louise first observed the importance of group processes such as the instillation of hope, universality, interpersonal learning, catharsis, and group cohesiveness, in helping individuals with OCD feel supported.

Louise has extensive training and experience in a variety of evidence based CBT models including: Exposure Response Prevention (ERP), the Unified Protocol for depression and anxiety, Accepance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, and Schema Therapy. She now integrates these approaches in her practice. Louise is also an exeperienced trainer and facilitator, teaching CBT to doctoral students in Trinity College, Dublin, and has a track record of delivering quality training workshops Primary Care teams on group interventions in teenagers with anxiety and depression.

As ERP is the first-line psychological treatment for OCD, and Louise's mission with Steps Forward OCD is to provide equal access to a standardised ERP programme across mental health settings in Ireland, as part of a stepped model of care. She endeavours to equip clinicians with the resources, training, and strategies to confidently deliver this specialist service within their teams.