Take Root Counseling & Consulting

09/25/2026

Remember, they’re not in it to educate, they’re in it for the entertainment value (which equals money).

People don’t want to see someone on TV in ERP therapy for real… because how boring would it be to watch someone practice noticing rumination, or touching a trash bag and delaying hand washing for five minutes, or sitting with a knife beside them on the counter during a session.

ERP is personally curated to each individual’s experience of OCD. Exposure practices are mutually agreed upon and planned for success. What’s on TV is notttttt the whole picture… sometimes the bit you see isn’t even an accurate picture. 🤦🏽‍♀️

08/12/2026

That’s how much it sucks to live with.

OCD can be painful, life-limiting and exhausting.

It can stop a person from doing what they love, working toward their goals, participating in normal daily life

It can get in the way of eating, intimacy, pleasure, grief, anger… everything.

It can steal relationships, dreams, hope…

So when you hear someone has OCD, think of it like this, not like a quirk.

06/29/2026

The reel is from Sharon Johnson, and it’s not only enjoyable, it’s got some good representation of the OCD experience. Which honestly, we could use more of. There’s a reason people think OCD is just about germs and organization, and that’s because of a lack of accurate representation.

There’s a lot of moments in this reel that I would be excited to highlight, discuss and celebrate if it were happening in a session with a client. Especially the note in the caption where she says she had a true moment of loving herself.

You can see the OCD thoughts battling with her own thoughts. The fears vs. the values. The OCD brain will always have a “what if” argument, and while this is a just a snippet of that, it truly is never ending. It will find reasons… sometimes they could actually happen, like a car accident, or sometimes they could be totally irrational, like a TRex stepping on your car. There is no amount of reassurance or compulsive behaviors that will convince that part to think differently. It needs to learn by doing.

Also- one extra thought I had while watching this: I love that he just provided space for her to work through it. He didn’t reassure, joke around, question her, judge her, nothing. Just let her go, then gave her some support to get through it. Beautiful.

Thanks Sharon Johnson for the vulnerability in sharing this.

04/24/2026

[ OCD 👇]
When those intrusive thoughts pop in and you wanna ruminate or do the other compulsion, and you try your absolute hardest to shut that sh*t down, and it doesn’t work, again… don’t just keep trying.

Don’t try harder to shut them out, push them away, neutralize them, ignore them, reassure them, appease them, whatever it is. Trying harder to shut down thoughts and compulsions is like throwing wood on a fire and hoping it will go out. Every response is reaffirming that it is a big deal, encouraging it to come back.

Maybe it’s time to try something different.

And listen, I know it’s not easy. I’m not saying the solution is to just stop. Here’s the thing- there’s a lot of bad or lacking information out there about OCD. Too often I find myself talking with someone who thought they were doing the best thing for themselves by trying to throw a “bad thought” in the trash, and had no idea just trying harder wasn’t going to work. And maybe even worse, had no idea it wasn’t their fault.

If this resonates with you, and you’ve been doing all you can to stop a behavior or rumination or certain thoughts from coming in and causing a big reaction… it might be time to try something different.

Because there are things that can help! And you deserve to understand them and be supported while you practice doing something difficult and scary. Really.

It might be time to do a little research on OCD (IOCDF.org is a good place) and/or reach out to a therapist well trained in working with OCD.

04/13/2026

More down here 👇
I’m not saying you won’t *feel* less anxious, I’m just saying we’d be going at it the wrong way if we were trying to get rid of a healthy, normal human emotion.

Fear keeps us from doing sketchy things, like walking down dark, creepy alleys at night. It helps us jump out of the way if a car is coming at us. It’s helpful. And honestly, we can’t just get rid of it.

Now, obviously, there’s a difference when your fear is saying, “you need to check that email you just sent to your boss for the 32nd time because what if you said something offensive?? You’re going to lose your job”. Or, “you need to ask them again if they’re mad at you because the last two times they could have just been saying that…”

That fear is a little unhinged.

Our goal is to facilitate learning so your brain can differentiate almost-getting-hit-by-a-car fear from if-I-think-about-jumping-off-this-building-my-body-will-just-do-it fear. So you’re not only willing, but able, to stop treating fear like the wisest voice in the room, and so you get to make your own decisions.

08/04/2025

Getting excited to kick off the OCD group in the next couple of weeks! If you’re interested, reach out!

07/16/2025

Coming soon! 🥳

05/28/2024

If you feel like it, I could use some help with some market research questions related to confidence. I'd appreciate literally anything you take the time to answer 😊 You can comment or DM, whatever is more comfy.

1. What is the single biggest challenge you're having (or have had) in regards to self-confidence or limiting beliefs?

2. What the biggest improvement or change you'd like to see?

3. How much time, effort or money have you invested trying to improve it?

4. What have you tried that hasn't worked?

5. What has worked?

6. What makes you doubt you can make the changes or get the results you want, if anything?

7. What would be a dream come true in regards to self-confidence, limiting beliefs and the difficulties surrounding those?

05/11/2024

First blog post- check!

Marlana Wilson 5/11/24 Marlana Wilson 5/11/24 So, why now? What is this? Who even am I? I’m sick of living in idealism and waiting for this elusive “right time”. I think I just need this… It feels good to write, and it feels good to share. So even if no one ever reads this, it’s worth it. ...

04/12/2024

Now accepting Aetna!

Hey! I'm Marlana (she/her). I am a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) in the state of Pennsylvania, where I reside, as well as Ohio. I work with OCD, ADHD, Social Anxiety and Trauma.