Do you suffer from OCD? OCD can have a harmful effect on your quality of life, by causing you significant distress and anxiety and making you feel as if you are not in control of your own life. Behavior Therapy For OCD can help you meaningfully reduce the obsessions or compulsions that you feel rule your life, and can teach you strategies to manage and work through your anxiety struggles.
What is OCD?
OCD is an acronym that stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. OCD is a psychological disorder that is classified as an anxiety disorder. OCD is characterized by intrusive and pervasive thoughts, feelings, images, and impulses, which persist in the person’s mind and the person attempts to reduce these thoughts, feelings and images by compulsions (compulsive behaviors) and/or mental rituals. These compulsions and rituals are often very time consuming and cause the suffering individual anxiety and distress. For example, someone who has a contamination obsession (such as fear of becoming sick) may feel a strong need to thoroughly wash their hands if they feel they are contaminated. Obsessions can ba about many things including being religious, sexual, or aggressive in nature or be about contamination and/or ordering.
OCD can have many accompanying and related conditions. People struggling with OCD may also struggle with one or more of the following disorders: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Depression, Social Phobia, Specific Phobias, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Panic Disorder, Hypochondriasis or Health Anxiety, Olfactory Reference Syndrome, Trichotillomania, Compulsive Skin Picking, and Tic Disorders or Tourette’s Syndrome. When people meet the diagnoses of two or more disorders that complicate potential treatment interventions, the therapist trained in treating OCD will tailor the treatment plan accordingly.
How Can OCD be Treated?
Both medication and behavior therapy are effective in treating OCD. Medication often has side effects, but one of the major strengths of Behavior Therapy For OCD is that there are no side effects and it is very effective. The primary intervention of Behavior Therapy for OCD is Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP). ERP has strong research supporting its effectiveness in treating and overcoming anxiety and fears. ERP is an active form of therapy that assists clients in facing fears in a supportive and systematic way. The therapist and client collaborate on creating a list (usually called a hierarchy) of the client’s OCD fears and the client is then gradually exposed to those situations. Clients are assisted in facing and getting used to their anxiety without avoidance, rituals, or other maladaptive responses. Gradually over time, people get used to these situations (also called habituation) and are able to function with greater freedom. Behavior Therapy For OCD, as research has repeatedly demonstrated, is one of the most effective treatment that is available to treat OCD and other anxiety symptoms.
Treatment Settings
Depending on the severity of your OCD, you may want to look into various types of treatment settings such as Residential support programs, Intensive Outpatient Programs, or Outpatient Clinics.
