CBT FOR OCD: WHAT IS IT?

Treatment for OCD is usually short-term (12-18 sessions; depending on the severity of symptoms) and is delivered in 50-minute sessions on a weekly basis. Improvements can generally be noticed within weeks and the therapeutic benefits tend to be lasting. Techniques comprise of a combination of behavioural experiments including exposure and response prevention (ERP) tasks and cognitive restructuring.

How can CBT for OCD help you?

Compulsions (specific repetitive behaviours) are carried out to give temporary relief from the obsessive thoughts and distress experienced in OCD. ERP aims to interrupt this process by purposefully ‘exposing’ you to things that make you feel anxious and trigger the intrusive thought. This allows you to choose to do something different in response- helping you to sit with the uncomfortable feelings and resist the urge to engage in unhelpful compulsive behaviours. ERP helps you to learn that when you stop fighting the obsessions and anxiety, the feelings and thoughts will eventually begin to reduce. Facing your fears also allows you to test out the beliefs you hold about what might happen if you do not perform your specific compulsions and can help you learn that the feared outcomes are less likely to come true than you thought.

Why choose me?

We are all susceptible to going through tough times and can experience challenging or distressing thoughts, feelings or behaviours. In OCD, thoughts tend to be particularly distressing and can be about someone close to you or an issue/belief or value that is important to you. Thoughts are often linked to ‘something bad happening’ be that violent, physical or sexual and often feel related to you. These thoughts and images can be so distressing that you would do almost anything to make sure it does not happen.

I can help you. I will help you to learn new and effective coping strategies to deal with the intrusive thoughts and help you to break the vicious cycle of the endless compulsions which only offer you short-term relief.