You are perfectly within your rights — and, in fact, would be well advised — to talk with your potential therapist before starting your work together. Here are some questions you might want to ask (keep in mind that there aren't necessarily any “right” answers):

• What is your professional orientation? Does the therapist practice CBT? Is she holistic-that is, does she consider the whole patient: physical health conditions, family and work situations, and so forth, or does she look almost exclusively at the OCD?

• Are you state licensed? You might want to hear a “yes.” This designation should give you extra reassurance; it's a requirement for clinical practice in most states.

• Are you board certified? Keep in mind that many highly trained, competent psychologists are not. Board certified psychologists have applied for certification (verification) of their rigorous training by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), though their training is generally no different from that of their non-certified counterparts.

• How much experience do you have in treating OCD? Also, what kinds of OCD does he usually see? (The second question will matter less, as success in treating one type of OCD will likely indicate ability to treat other types.)

• How do you feel about medication? (You don't necessarily have to agree on this, but it will probably be better for you if your therapist is at least open to the possibility.)

• How long do you think my treatment would take? You might not want to ask this until you meet, as it may be a difficult question to answer before you have discussed your symptoms in detail. Any number of factors will probably determine the response: How entrenched is your OC behavior? How long have you had it? Do you have other problems in addition to the OCD? If so, how serious are they in nature? And so on.