More Than “Just Neat”

Most people imagine obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as excessive cleaning or a need for neatness. In reality, OCD can take many forms. At its core, OCD involves recurrent intrusive thoughts and unwanted repetitive behaviors or mental rituals. The themes of OCD can vary widely, including fears related to contamination, repeated checking, harm to oneself or others, or intrusive thoughts involving sexuality, religion, or morality.

Clinically, OCD is often missed or mistreated when the underlying pattern is not recognized. When treatment focuses only on the content of the thoughts rather than the OCD process itself, clients may spend years in ineffective therapy and continue to suffer unnecessarily. Early identification and accurate diagnosis can help clients receive appropriate, evidence-based treatment and begin making meaningful progress.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) does not resolve over time and particular treatment is needed for successful recovery. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is the gold standard treatment for OCD. ERP is one type of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with emphasis on behavioral changes. In addition to ERP, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) has been a new wave of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which provides the same successful treatment outcomes to OCD, especially for pure obsessional OCD or OCD with mental rituals. It is very crucial to work with experienced clinicians to formulate individualized treatment plans to target OCD systematically. Frequently, a failed treatment is usually caused by improper behavioral analyses and unintentionally reinforcement of OCD.

Remede Therapy offers evidence-based CBT with all various level of care, including weekly ERP, or intensive outpatient treatment. Please reach out to Remede Therapy for more information.