How Should OCD Be Treated?
One of the most common things we hear from clients who come to us for OCD treatment is that they have done years of talk therapy without much improvement.
This doesn't mean talk therapy isn't helpful. Many people find it helpful to talk with someone about their feelings and get validations. But most people with OCD will not see improvement in their symptoms by talking alone.
In fact, much of the time talk therapy can involve "co-compulsing" with the therapist by analyzing thoughts, seeking reassurance, and making meaning out of thoughts by looking for hidden traumas.
It's important for you to know that there are treatment approaches for OCD that have been backed by research. And this may come as a surprise to you, but most therapists have no idea how to use this treatment approach.
The majority of graduate school programs for therapists do not include training on OCD assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Therefore, the only therapists that can adequately treat OCD are ones that have sought more specialized training.
What is the most effective treatment approach for OCD?
Research has shown that Exposure and Response Prevention in the most effective way of treating OCD. There are some additional treatment approaches proven to be helpful as well. A combination of medication has also shown to improve OCD symptoms. There is also a growing amount of research on the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for the treatment of OCD (which blends very well with ERP!)
At State of Mind Therapy, Jenny and Justin use both ERP and ACT in treatment of anxiety disorders and OCD.
What is ERP?
ERP stands for Exposure and Response Prevention. In its most simple form, it means to gradually expose yourself to your fear while not engaging in any behaviors that may serve to reduce your anxiety.
When you engage in an anxiety reduction behavior, you reinforce the need to keep doing the behavior. This prevents you from learning that anxiety is safe and tolerable. And it can make your world a lot smaller by keeping you from doing the things you love in life.
ERP helps you to change the relationship you have to the feared stimuli. Its helps you to be more flexible with how you respond and makes you better able to handle difficult thoughts and feelings.
We know it can feel scary but it's worth it.
You can check out some related videos here that we did on this topic:
How to Effectively Treat OCD (video)