ObsessLess – Building the Digital Support Layer for OCD
The Problem
OCD is one of the most disabling mental health conditions in the world, and one of the most misunderstood. In Europe alone, around 9 million adults live with active OCD each year. For many of them, it affects work, relationships, sleep, and confidence through intrusive thoughts, compulsions, avoidance, rumination, reassurance-seeking, checking, and the constant need to feel certain. The cost is enormous, estimated at €45 to €60 billion annually across Europe, but most of that burden doesn’t land inside healthcare systems. It falls on people, their families, employers, and caregivers.
People are already trying to get help. Out-of-pocket OCD support in Europe is estimated at €9 to €13 billion per year. Yet around 60% of people with active OCD received no mental health treatment in the past year. OCD care is too slow, too expensive, and too far removed from daily life.
The Solution
ObsessLess is building the digital support layer for OCD, not to replace therapy, but to make support available in the moments the current system can’t reach: before a first appointment, between sessions, after a trigger hits and the next session is still two weeks away.
Why Now?
Many people start searching for answers long before they ever reach a therapist. They look things up late at night, find communities, try to figure out quietly what is happening to them. Meanwhile healthcare systems are under more pressure than ever, specialist OCD care is hard to access, and many people never reach the right support at all. New technology makes it possible to reach people earlier and more continuously, at home, on waiting lists, between sessions, and in daily life.
What Makes ObsessLess Unique?
For many people with OCD, the first barrier is shame. Intrusive thoughts can feel confusing, embarrassing, or impossible to explain, and many people stay silent for months or years before asking for help. ObsessLess starts there, meeting people where they actually are: searching online, sitting on waiting lists, managing triggers alone. When someone finally understands what they’re dealing with, useful support should not be months/years away.
Meet the Team
Mourice Schuurmans is Co-Founder and CEO. He has 8+ years of experience building digital products, has lived with severe OCD himself, and built a 20K+ OCD advocacy community from scratch. He is also a member of the IOCDF AI Special Interest Group.
Adrian Pavel is Co-Founder and CTO, with 12+ years of experience in enterprise and consumer software, including previous roles at Shell and SoftVision.
Dr. Marina Gershkovich, PhD, ABPP, is Founding Clinical Advisor, a board-certified clinical psychologist and OCD researcher, formerly at Columbia University Medical Center’s Center for OCD and Related Disorders, with 15+ publications spanning OCD, telehealth, and mobile-app-supported care.
Follow ObsessLess on LinkedIn or visit obsessless.com to learn more.