Delay for Clinicians

Where the week goes

A good session, then six days alone with the urge.

Most response prevention happens when you aren't in the room. These are the moments Delay is built for, shown with the actual screens your client would see.

"Can I just ask you one quick thing?"Reassurance by text, email, Google, or now ChatGPT.

What Delay does

A pause before the ask

The home screen starts with the urge itself: Google it, reread the message, ask for reassurance. Tapping one starts a delay instead. Nothing on the other side gives an answer.

Delay home screen with buttons for Google it, Reread the message, Ask for reassurance

"It's 1am and the thought won't stop."Nobody to call, and the urge to search is loud.

What Delay does

Late Night mode

A dim screen with a few slow lines, like "The urgency is false. Nothing needs to happen now." There's no search box and no library on this screen. It's built to be boring enough to put down.

Late Night screen: The urgency is false. Nothing needs to happen now.

"I did great in session, then nothing all week."Homework that never quite happens.

What Delay does

A small daily practice, and an honest log

Practice starts at two minutes and grows as they keep showing up. Afterward they pick what happened: sat with it, delayed it, responded partway, acted on it, or not sure. No scores and no shame on any of them.

After a delay: What happened? I sat with it, I delayed it, I responded partway, I acted on the urge, I'm not sure

"I don't even know what I'm trying to get."The compulsion is automatic before it's noticed.

What Delay does

Check the Urge

One question: what does the urge want? Certainty, relief, to undo something, to make the thought go away. They tap one and get a single line back: "That's the urge. Not you."

"They avoid the small stuff too."Exposure stalls between sessions.

What Delay does

Exposure, sized for today

They choose how much discomfort they can take today, from Tiny to Big, and get one concrete step, like "Skip one ritual." Then they can do it, or say not now. You still own the hierarchy.

Exposure tool: How uncomfortable can you handle today? Small: Skip one ritual

A quiet living room with a couch, plants and a desk by the window

Tuesday, 4:10pm. Your client opens Delay instead of texting you. Two minutes later, they log "I delayed it."Example

How it fits your work

Three steps, and none of them add to your week.

Try it yourself first

Spend five minutes with the free access I send you. Open Late Night and the reassurance delay and see if the tone fits how you work.

Give it to one client

Print the one-page handout, write in the urge and delay length you want them to practice, and hand it over.

Look at the log together

Their log lives on their phone. They scroll it with you in session. No portal, no logins, nothing to monitor.

The app

Real screens, captured from the current iPhone app.

Nothing here is a mockup. Scroll sideways to see more.

Your first delay. Right now. — **First minute**The first thing a new user does is a two-minute delay, not a sign-up form.

Delay timer: Sit with the discomfort — **The timer**Sit with the discomfort. A crisis link sits under every timer.

Urge still present? You can keep practicing. — **Urge still there?**They can stop, or add 30 seconds, 2 minutes, or 5.

Practice tools list — **Practice tools**Uncertainty, Thought Labels, Contain, Exposure, Avoidance, Late Night and more.

I'm choosing not to solve this — **Choose Not To**Active non-response, practiced on purpose.

Maintenance mode and a letter to your future self — **Maintenance mode**Two minutes a day with no streak pressure, for when things are quiet.

What do you struggle with? Select all that apply — **Subtypes**Intrusive thoughts, ROCD, contamination, checking, and more.

Founding clinician access

Everything you need to try it with one client.

A free year of full accessEvery tool, so you can judge it yourself before a client ever sees it.
A one-page client handoutPrintable, with space to write the target urge and delay length. Open it.
A short guide for using Delay with ERP homeworkHow to assign it, what to look for in the log, and when to stop using it. Read it.
A direct line to meI read and answer every email myself, usually within a day.
A say in what gets built nextIf something works against how you do ERP, I want to hear it first.

$0for clinicians. No card, no trial that turns into a charge.

Nothing is tied to recommending it.

No referral fees, no commissions, no perks for sending clients. Free access is for you to evaluate the app, and that's all it is.

Get free clinician access

The outcomePractice that happens between sessions

Response prevention, a few minutes at a time, when the urge shows up.

See it firstTry every tool yourself

Decide if it fits before any client hears about it.

TimeFive minutes to look

Two minutes to show a client. The handout does the rest.

Your effortNo setup at all

No account, no dashboard, no BAA, nothing to monitor.

My promise to you

Nothing to buy. Nothing to recommend.

You never have to suggest it.

Try it, tell me what you think, or don't. If it's not for you, reply "not for me" and you won't hear from me again.

If it works against an ERP plan, tell me.

You'll get a reply within 48 hours saying what I'm changing, or a straight answer on why I can't.

Your name stays yours.

I won't quote you, list you, or mention your practice anywhere without your written OK.

Safety and limits

What it is, what it isn't, and where it could backfire.

You know better than any app when a delay fits a given compulsion. Here's an honest picture so you can decide.

What Delay is

A timer and a set of tools for practicing response prevention
A log your client keeps on their own phone
Something to open at 1am that won't answer the question
Built around the "delay" step many ERP clinicians already teach
Made for adults. Teens 13 to 17 only with a parent and their clinician involved.

What it isn't

Treatment, or a replacement for ERP with you
Clinically tested. There are no trials of Delay yet.
A crisis service. Nobody monitors it.
A way to see your client's data remotely
For clients with active suicidal thoughts or intent to harm, or who need a higher level of care right now
A way to put off urgent help. It's for OCD urges, not for delaying crisis care, medication, or real safety needs.

Watch for

The timer becoming a ritual

Some clients will only resist "with the timer," or use it to earn the compulsion afterward. Maintenance mode and ending a delay early make it easier to fade the app out. The guide covers how.

Watch for

Reading as checking

The app has a library of common OCD patterns. For some clients, looking up whether a thought "counts" is its own compulsion. If you see that, tell them to skip it.

Built in

A way out to real help

Every timer screen links to crisis resources, and the app lists 988 for the US. Delay doesn't assess risk and never tells anyone they're safe.

Privacy, in plain words

Exactly what leaves the phone, and what doesn't.

No account

Delay never asks for a name, email, or phone number.

What they type stays on the phone

Worries, labels, screener answers, urge ratings and session lengths are stored on the device and never sent to us.

No analytics, no ad tracking

Since version 1.1.7, Delay collects no usage statistics and uses no ad-tracking tools. If that ever changes, the app will ask first, with it switched off by default.

Purchases only

If a client subscribes, Apple or Google take the payment and RevenueCat manages the subscription under a random ID. Nobody sees their card details.

Nothing is sold

No data is sold or rented, and there's no data business behind Delay.

About HIPAA

HIPAA doesn't apply. Delay is a consumer app, not part of your practice, which is why it collects as little as it does. If a client shows you their log in session, it becomes part of your record the usual way.

Full details are in the privacy policy and the Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy.

A notebook, pen and coffee on a small wooden table in morning light

Why I built it

"My worst OCD moments were never in a therapist's office. They were late at night, phone in hand, one search away from an answer that wouldn't last."

Max McKenna, maker of Delay

I built Delay for those moments, for myself first. It's a one-person company in Maine, so when you write, you get me. I'm not a clinician, which is exactly why I want ERP specialists to tell me what's wrong with it.

Questions

What clinicians ask first

Is there research behind Delay?

Not on Delay itself. It hasn't been tested in a trial, and I won't claim it works until there's data. It's built on a step ERP clinicians already use: delaying a compulsion, then shortening it, then dropping it. If you'd ever want to look at it more formally, I'd welcome that.

Can I accept free access ethically?

It's free so you can evaluate the app, and nothing is tied to recommending it. There are no referral fees, commissions or perks of any kind. If your licensing board has specific rules on vendor products, those come first.

Do you pay clinicians to recommend Delay?

No. I don't pay referral fees, commissions, or per-client payments, and free clinician access doesn't depend on recommending it to anyone.

Can I see my client's progress?

No. There's no therapist dashboard and no way for anyone else to see a client's data. They can show you their log on their phone in session, which also keeps them in charge of what they share.

Does it give reassurance anywhere?

It's designed not to. The timer and Late Night screens never answer the question. The one place to watch is the pattern library, which explains common OCD fears. Some clients may use it to check, and if that happens, have them skip it.

What does it cost my clients?

There's a free trial, then $59.99 a year, $9.99 a month or $2.99 a week. A 30-second crisis delay is always free. If cost would keep a client from using it, email me.

Is it right for contamination OCD?

There's a tool for holding off a wash or clean. Whether a delay fits a particular compulsion is your call, and the guide has notes on when it doesn't.

Who's behind it?

Me, Max McKenna. Delay is made by JadeTrade Marketplace LLC, a small company in Appleton, Maine. No investors and no data business.

Get free clinician access

Try it before your next session.

Next week can look like this one: a good session, then six days on their own with the urge. Or they can have something to open when it hits.

A free year of full access for you
The client handout and the ERP homework guide
A direct line to the person who builds it
No obligation to recommend it, ever

P.S. Only have a minute? Open the handout. It's one page, and it's exactly what a client would see.