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Finding a Qualified
Therapist |
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How Do I Know If My therapist Can Treat Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?* Looking for a qualified
therapist can be a discouraging and draining procedure if you do not know
what to look for in a therapist.
Unfortunately, this may leave little or no energy for actually doing
the treatment. In this page there will
be a review of the important questions that you should ask of a possible
therapist and the answers you should get if the therapist is an experienced
OCD treatment provider. There will
also be a description of what to expect from cognitive-behavior therapy ( Along with teaching the
patient ERP, a good behavior therapist for someone with ocd will also
introduce a patient to the medications that are used to treat OCD and may
even suggest the names of some psychiatrists who are experienced with
medication for OCD. For most sufferers
a combination of Questions & Answers
The answer you want to get is behavioral or cognitive-behavioral.
“Yes” is the answer you want. This is the most essential aspect of therapy for OCD. Exposure and response prevention is a type of behavioral treatment and it is the most efficacious treatment for OCD when combined with the correct medications. It’s very important that you get a “yes” answer to this question, because some behavior therapists use other behavioral techniques, but do not use ERP. These are three follow-up questions that you should ask
if the therapist’s answer to the first question was “yes”. |
Notices
& Announcements
Information & Resources
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It is very important that a potential therapist answer “yes” to this question if you think you will not be able to do ERP without the assistance of a therapist. Please note that it is not clinically beneficial to be assisted by a therapist while doing exposure work for a prolonged number of sessions. Therapist-assisted ERP should be combined with self-directed ERP. Eventually, the patient should be able to do ERP without the aid of the therapist. A patient can work out with her therapist when she should be doing ERP on her own.
Some individuals have OCD symptoms that are confined to their home or are significantly worse in the home or symptoms that are triggered in specific spaces, i.e., public rest rooms, restaurants, supermarkets, etc. If these are your problem spaces, a therapist who comes to your home or goes out in public with you is ideal. Please note that it is difficult to find therapists who are willing to leave their offices to do ERP with a patient. But go ahead and ask anyway.
Responses to this question will vary. Generally, to be safe you should be looking for a treatment provider whose patient base consists of at least one-fourth OCD patients. Some “red flag” responses are: “Oh, you would be my first” or “We don’t get too many referrals but I really enjoy treating people with OCD.” What should I expect to happen during the assessment and
during the beginning of treatment? The assessment phase is usually completed within two to three sessions. During this time, the therapist will ask many questions related to OCD symptoms and will likely administer a Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) or a similar assessment tool that also measures symptom severity. Typical areas the assessments include:
The treatment phase is where you begin to do ERP. Once the therapist has completed a thorough assessment of obsessions, compulsions, avoidance behaviors, and triggers, the therapist should begin by organizing and negotiating with the patient about how the fears will be addressed. Then, the patient will begin doing ERP. Exposure happens when a patient voluntarily faces a feared situation or object. Response prevention involves not engaging in the response that makes the person feel more comfortable. The goal of ERP is habituation. Habituation refers to getting used to or ignoring things that used to bring about an anxiety-producing reaction. Therapist and patient will generate a hierarchy of fears that goes from the least anxiety-producing to the most anxiety-producing. With this fear hierarchy, the person is gradually introduced to her fears. Once you master your first fear (habituation), then you address the next item in the hierarchy. It is important to note that although exposure and response prevention therapy is straightforward and not mysterious, it is not an easy treatment to do. The treatment involves a considerable collaboration between therapist and patient, so it is important that you trust your therapist and feel comfortable discussing your concerns openly with her. When is it appropriate to consider other types of
treatment? Many times individuals with OCD will have other difficulties or diagnoses as well. Depression is the most common condition that is associated with OCD. Family and/or marital discord are also typical among OCD patients. Once you have gotten good at doing ERP, then it is time to think about adding additional therapies that will help you with other aspects of your life, i.e., managing daily life stressors and interpersonal relationships. General psychotherapy, family and/or marital therapy should begin only after the patient’s OCD symptoms are more manageable and the person has regained control of her daily living skills. What do I do if there is no one in my area who is
qualified to treat OCD? Unfortunately, this is an important concern because there are so few qualified OCD therapists in many areas. If this is your situation, here are two options to consider:
*From pamphlet “How Do I Know If My Therapist Can Treat OCD?” By Lisa Jo Bertwan-Pate, Ph.D. for the OC Foundation. ** The OCF has a free publication List with some of these books on it. To order, call (203) 401-2070, ext 13. DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this publication is not intended to provide medical advice. This information is intended only to keep you informed. It is strongly advised that you check any medications or treatments with a qualified mental health provider. |
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Created in honor and
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