EXPOSURE & RITUAL PREVENTION
FOR OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
Empowering you to take back control
WHAT IS OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD)?
People who suffer from OCD have unwanted thoughts and urges that are persistent and recurring, we call them obsessions. These individuals also feel driven to perform compulsions, which are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that when done, relieve the distress caused by the obsessive thoughts. OCD is really disruptive; it is time-consuming and extremely distressing. Not to mention that it worsens over time if it goes untreated.
TREATMENTS
Luckily though, there is a tremendous evidence-based treatment that beats all others in treating OCD and I specialize in it. The treatment is called Exposure & Ritual Prevention or ERP. ERP is considered the number one treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder. And improvement was seen not only during treatment but maintained for years. Another type of therapy, called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT, was found to be extremely effective in helping manage OCD when used in combination with ERP treatment. I use both ACT and ERP to treat OCD and to help you guys manage the disorder long term.
ACT helps you develop a healthier relationship with your thoughts and feelings. It will give you the skills you need to feel more self-aware, less reactive, more at peace and in control so that you can focus on what actually matters to you.
EXPOSURE AND RITUAL PREVENTION
ERP treatment aims at breaking the OCD cycle:
- This part stays the same: you are exposed to your fears repeatedly but in a safe environment.
- This changes: you are not allowed to perform a compulsion.
- What happens: anxiety naturally decreases because your fear doesn’t come true.
- You start believing your fears a little less.
REPEAT.
RESULTS: No more obsessions. No more compulsions.
Now, can you imagine? This could be you, freeing yourself of these restraints that hold you back in so many ways, what would you even do with this freedom? Go on that dream vacation you’ve been putting off for years? Going back to school like you promised yourself you would? Or maybe, you’ll just go out every weekend because the social anxiety is gone, and you miss being carefree and 21 again. The possibilities are endless!
