There are many kinds of mental health problems out there, and many forms of therapy available to help people overcome their challenges.
The most important aspect of treating a condition you may have is to find the right form of therapy for you.
When most people think of therapy, they think of the traditional form of talk therapy. That is when a therapist talks with a patient about their problems. They work, by talking, to discover hurts and hang-ups and how to overcome them.
However, for some challenges, like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), studies have found more effective forms of treatment such as Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy.
What is Exposure Response Prevention?
When an obsessive thought occurs, feelings of anxiety and uncertainty immediately follow. These feelings are uncomfortable, and as a result, people with OCD typically do something to relieve the anxiety or uncertainty. Exactly what they do takes many forms.
For some, a behaviour like washing your hands will relieve the anxiety. For others, seeking reassurance from a loved one (or elsewhere) will work in the same way. The internet has become a popular resource for OCD sufferers who seek to reassure themselves and thus lower their anxiety.
Still others with OCD would love to find something that would relieve their anxiety but have not been able to. Whatever the strategy people use to deal with the increased anxiety, they operate from a desire to rid themselves of the feeling if at all possible.
There is another treatment approach, once commonly used, where a person would be exposed to their worst fears very early on, an approach called flooding. Flooding involves immersing the person with OCD in the situation they fear the most and them staying in that situation until their anxiety reduces to a more normal level, becoming less of an issue.
Although flooding can work if it can be tolerated by the sufferer, for most of us it is too much, too soon.
Equally, it is important to remember that before you attempt to swim, you must first learn how and why it’s important to (the cognitive part of therapy), otherwise you may continue to struggle. So in treatment, we very much believe that the cognitive and behavioural aspects are of equal importance.
How can therapy help?
What OCD patients experience is much more than fear. To them, it is more of a life or death situation. It is fear that changes how they can live and what they can do. It impacts their thinking, and it can be very difficult for them to overcome this fear alone.
Exposure and Prevention Therapy is a specialized technique that should be performed by a trained specialist. If you or someone you care about has OCD, they should speak to a professional who can help them in the following ways:
– Creating a hierarchical map that guides them through the process of conquering smaller to larger fears
– Informing the client about proper techniques and “timing”. Washing hands is a normal daily activity. A person with OCD might wash their hands until the skin is pink and raw. Through role play, a therapist can guide someone by teaching appropriate skills.
– Someone with OCD might not be able to identify their behaviours or triggers. They are used to living that way, and some of their behaviours will seem normal to them. They might not realize that other people don’t experience the same thing.
Everyone can use support and encouragement. Having a therapist helping walk them through the process assures there is someone there that understands the progress that is being made. It is important to recognise this process to stay motivated to continue moving forward.
It is important to seek out professionals with a track record in such therapy. You can learn more about exposure and response prevention therapy by reading this article on BetterHelp.
People with fairly mild OCD usually need about 10 hours of therapist treatment, with exercises done at home between sessions. If you have more severe OCD, you may need a longer course of treatment.
