Do you often feel overwhelmed by situations you fear that have caused you anxiety or have you engaged in compulsions?
Do you find yourself…
Struggling with managing your compulsions that come along with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?
Having difficulties dealing with situations that are anxiety inducing?
Reacting to situations that are not dangerous as if they are dangerous because you are having difficulties controlling your reaction to the situation ?
Fearing facing situations that trigger you into giving into your compulsions?
Perhaps this has been affecting your daily life, leaving you struggling to get daily tasks done. Maybe this has left you looking for support, wanting to break the vicious cycle of giving into your compulsions.
If you found yourself agreeing with any of these statements, you are not alone. There are a multitude of individuals who struggle with OCD that has impacted their daily life. If you find yourself having specific situations that trigger you leading to you giving in to your compulsions you may benefit from Exposure and Response Prevention therapy (ERP).
What is ERP?
ERP is an evidence-based treatment which is mainly used for individuals who have OCD and are struggling with confronting feared thoughts or situations without engaging in their compulsions.
ERP is a subtype of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), which mainly focuses on redirecting negative thoughts to positive ones through learning how to reframe your thought processes. This subtype of CBT involves an individual being slowly exposed to situations and/or triggers that cause their compulsions so they can confront the scenarios that are at the root of their compulsive behaviour.
What is OCD?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD is a condition that results in an individual experiencing recurring and uncontrollable obsession or compulsions. One experiencing OCD may develop time issues due to how time-consuming OCD symptoms can become. This can lead to an immense amount of distress for an individual and can result in interference with their daily life.
Those who have OCD may often experience…
Fear of contamination or germs.
Constantly re-checking things, or counting.
Having to repeat tasks multiple times before it feels “right”.
Constantly rearranging or organizing items until their “perfect”.
A constant desire for reassurance.
Development of intrusive taboo thoughts towards topics such as sex or death.
Recurrent and distressing thoughts about self harm, suicide, and negative thoughts toward the self or others.
If you struggle with any of these symptoms you may benefit from counsellors at Healing Voices Psychotherapy.
We offer ERP services to adults and adolescents.
How Does ERP Counseling Work?
We start ERP counseling with a consultation appointment to assess the individual's situation and begin a treatment plan. Once the ERP sessions begin the therapist and client would focus on stimulus and situations that create distress and work towards breaking the fear of what will happen by not engaging in rituals.
Our counsellors will also discuss different situations ranked from least to most distressing, creating a fear hierarchy that is personal for that specific client. Then, over the sessions, the clinician would help guide the client as they confront situations that fall in their fear hierarchy while not engaging in compulsions. As these exposures occur, the client will learn that the outcome they fear does not occur, and how to cope with distress without engaging in compulsions. After each exposure, the clinician and client will review the client's experiences and what they learned. Eventually, the client would work their way up their fear hierarchy and confront the most distressing situations.
Once the client has overcome their fear hierarchy and no longer feels the urge to give into their compulsions, relapse prevention planning occurs. This is done as a preventative measure to lessen the chances of an individual relapsing and returning to the same level of symptoms. The skills learned during ERP sessions should be long-lasting and offer relief to individuals struggling with anxieties and compulsions.
Using ERP, your therapist will be able to guide you through climbing your hierarchy of fear and take back control, so that you can live a life of empowerment and wellbeing.
Short Term and Long Term Hope Provided by ERP
We offer hope by guiding you through sessions and providing them with reassurance that they can overcome their compulsions while confronting their feared situations. Any development or accomplishment made, big or small, is still substantial and will encourage and empower you to continue making strides over future sessions. Empowerment can be gained with relapse prevention planning to help ease distress about relapsing into compulsive behaviours.
If a relapse does happen, there is still the opportunity to engage in treatment again. With guidance, many individuals struggling with obsessive, anxious and compulsive behaviours will gain an ability to better manage, self-cope and work through their obsessions, leading to increased well being and confidence.
Questions You Might Have About ERP
How long has this approach been around?
This approach was founded by Stanley Robinson in the 1970’s as an effective treatment for managing the thoughts and behaviours of OCD. ERP now has years of research supporting evidence that individuals with OCD experience a reduction in their symptoms after treatment.
What might I learn or gain from participation in this type of therapy?
You will learn how to cope with distressing thoughts or situations without engaging in compulsions. Initially, you may be resistant to ERP, because of the need to actively be put in situations that are seen as dangerous. Working through the situation with a therapist over time and through exposures develops tools to help bring anxiety down naturally when facing triggers in the outside world, as well as a sense of reassurance when feared outcomes do not occur in reality. Learning to not engage in their compulsions can provide more time and opportunities to focus on goals, loved ones, and help take back control of life in situations where anxious and/or obsessive triggers have previously controlled daily functioning.
Is it normal to initially feel higher levels of anxiety at the beginning of ERP therapy?
Yes, in the early stages of ERP therapy one is just starting to be exposed to triggers that cause anxiety or compulsions. It is natural to feel a heightened level of anxiety as a response at first – you are beginning to overcome your fears! As the sessions continue your anxiety should lessen and you will begin to see yourself climbing your fear hierarchy as our therapists guide you on your journey.
Let Us Help You Enjoy A Life Of Greater Ease And Comfort!
If stress, anxiety, and compulsions caused by OCD have affected your sense of safety and inner peace, our specialists at Healing Voices Psychotherapy are here to help. Please call our clinic at 705-715-9107 for your free, 15-minute phone or virtual consultation—or click Book Now to set up your first online anxiety therapy session.