Asking to be cured of OCD is for dead people
Wait, I can’t be completely cured of OCD?
Let’s begin by first acknowledging that OCD SUCKS!! There is a reason you are looking for help, and I’m guessing it’s because you’re suffering and becoming sick and tired of being sick and tired. Trying to get rid of obsessive thoughts through compulsions is exhausting. And it makes your world smaller and smaller. The suffering is often evident once OCD begins to rob you of your time, relationships, work performance, and simply just makes you feel very uncomfortable under your own skin. However, asking to be completely free of OCD can only be achieved once you’re 6 feet under. I know, that sounds dark and dramatic - but it’s true. OCD is a chronic disorder, which means it cannot get better without treatment. When I tell my clients that I can’t completely cure them of their OCD, I often see their body posture almost collapse. But the truth is - there is no magic Men in Black device that can delete our thoughts and memories - they’re now in our repertoire. HOWEVER, there is hope - so please stay with me.
How Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help treat OCD
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) has been (until recently) the only gold standard for treating OCD. However, there is a new treatment in town, and it has not only been shown to be just as effective as ERP, but also incredibly influential with helping people design a life that is more rich and meaningful. This treatment is called ACT. I describe how ACT works by having my clients visualize a glass of water that is about 25% full of water, but also completely saturated with salt. I explain that the water represents their lives and everything in it that brings them meaning and joy, and the salt is their OCD symptoms. During this exercise, I confess that I can’t remove that salt, but what I can do is help my clients fill their glass with more water, which decreases the significance of that salt in their lives. I also teach my clients skills to help them deal with that salt more flexibly as we move forward together -filling their cup with more purpose, meaning, and value.
Do you use ERP to Treat OCD?
Yes. ERP is certainly still very useful and I incorporate ERP into my practice. I like to describe working within ERP and ACT as a marriage - each model having their own unique benefits that contribute to the treatment process. For more information about ACT’s usefulness with treating OCD, please go here: https://iocdf.org/expert-opinions/expert-opinion-what-is-act/
My role as a therapist in treatment for OCD
I describe myself as more of a coach than as a “healer.” I often use a metaphor (I use metaphors a lot!) to describe my role in treating someone with OCD. Here we go, let’s begin by imagining two mountains that are right next to each-other. These mountains represent “life.” Life is hard and it is much like climbing a mountain. Mountains can be incredibly dangerous to climb if you don’t have the right tools to help you get to the top. So now imagine your mountain being right next to mine, and let’s pretend that we can magically hear and see one another. The benefit of this circumstance is that I know some tips that can help get you up this mountain, and maybe even enjoy this climb. I can give you strategies for feet placement, how to sharpen your pick axe, I may even see an alternate route up that you can’t see from your perspective, or I may see an avalanche racing your way before you do. Assuming I don’t slip and face my own adversity on my mountain (hey, I’m human too!), I can coach you up your mountain with the help of scientifically-proven skillsets. I may even have us pause occasionally, and just take the time to enjoy the scenery up there, because that’s important too!
What I’m trying to say here is that I’m not this magical healer that is just basking in the sun on top of my mountain - free from any anxieties or curve balls that life throws at us. I’m just like you, a normal human trying to climb this mountain we call life. And the truth is, this mountain only ends when the credits to our story begin to roll. So let’s make the most of what we can out of this adventure.
Written by Justin Matthews, LGSW