Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
OCD involves unwanted, intrusive thoughts and the rituals people use to relieve the distress they cause. Relief is brief, and the cycle continues. ERP, a specialized form of CBT, is the leading treatment for breaking it.
What does treatment look like for OCD?
OCD involves unwanted, intrusive thoughts and the rituals people use to relieve the distress they cause including mental rituals. Though these rituals bring short-term relief, they keep the cycle going. ERP, a specialized form of CBT, is the leading treatment for breaking it. The following is a brief description of the treatment for OCD.
Psycho-education about the cycle of how intrusive thoughts develop into OCD. Clients learn that their responses to intrusive thoughts in the form of reassurance and safety seeking crystalize into OCD and the role of accepting uncertainty.
Exposure. Gradually and collaboratively, you approach the thoughts and behaviors you would otherwise avoid and stop engaging in neutralizing behaviors that provide short term help but maintain the OCD.
Response prevention. While facing the trigger, you practice resisting the urge to perform compulsions, whether checking, washing, seeking reassurance, or mental reviewing/checking.
Learning through experience. Over time, you discover that anxiety rises and falls on its own, that feared outcomes are less likely than they feel, and that you can tolerate uncertainty without rituals.