Therapy for OCD in Los Angeles
Dealing with OCD is tough. You're constantly dealing with the fear that the worse case scenario you could possibly envision is about to come true, unless you follow your OCD's exact instructions. It's like walking around completing a never ending set of tasks under the threat of violence if you don't comply, and no one around you seems to be able to understand why you have to listen to that voice in your mind telling you to do your compulsions. "Just ignore it", they say, as if it were that easy.
Treatment for OCD: How does OCD get better?
Each therapist may have their own unique approach to working with OCD, but there are some types of therapies that are considered the "Gold Standard" for OCD. This means that research has shown over and over again that these types of therapies are particularly effective in reducing OCD symptoms compared to other treatments. Two of these "Gold Standard" therapies are Inference-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). I have training in both I-CBT and ERP, and I collaborate with my clients to decide which treatment modality may be the best fit for their OCD.
I-CBT works by addressing something called Inferential Confusion, a thinking pattern that develops over time and causes a person with OCD to put more emphasis on imagined worst case scenarios than on what's actually going on around them. Inferential Confusion occurs without the person with OCD's awareness most of the time, and it leads to the Obsessional Doubts that are the hallmark of OCD. In the course of I-CBT treatment, you will learn to catch the Inferential Confusion thinking process in real time and send the whole OCD cycle to a grinding halt.
ERP works via a different pathway; it works by exposing you to the stuff that triggers your OCD and building your tolerance and ability to cope with it. First, we create an exposure hierarchy. This is basically a ladder, with the least anxiety-provoking situations at the bottom, and the most anxiety-provoking situations at the top. During exposures, we will work together to help you manage your anxiety and avoid using your compulsions to soothe your anxiety. Exposures will be gradual, beginning at the bottom of the ladder and going up the ladder as you get more comfortable.
