OCD Therapy
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder that affects millions of children and young adults worldwide and is considered one of the most treatment resistant mental health conditions. You already know this and are looking for a treatment that the research shows works. With OCD, your brain gets stuck in a loop (like a skipping record), with thoughts or behaviors repeating over and over and are outside of your control. It is sort of like that dog that barks at everything no matter what treat you give him or collar you put on him. Oh, the neighbors love your dog as much as you hate the OCD.
“We took our 11 year old to four other therapists before we found ROSEANN CAPANNA-HODGE™. Our therapist showed us and my daughter how to talk back to the OCD! My daughter is smiling and laughing again because she isn’t crippled by obsessive thoughts. The ERP OCD Therapy works and I wish we hadn’t wasted so much time with talk therapy”. *
With OCD, the more you try to get rid of your distress, the more you feed the compulsions or obsessions. You are feeding the barking dog, so to speak. This can quickly become a habit that is very difficult to break even with traditional talk therapy or medication (and according to research, in many cases it actually reinforces it). Squashing it early and getting the RIGHT treatment is so important! We use a combination of the most researched and effective OCD treatments; Exposure Response and Prevention Therapy(E/RP or ERP Therapy) combined with Neurofeedback or Biofeedback.
The research shows that the most effective type of therapy for OCD is ERP Therapy. ERP Therapy is a combination of Exposure Therapy and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) that exposes a person to their OCD trigger so they learn how to be uncomfortable to the point where they can ignore manage their trigger. A child or person learns to “Talk Back to OCD” and then can control the triggers and anxiety. Before ERP begins, deep psychoeducation about how OCD impacts the brain and behavior is essential. That is one of the key features of ERP Therapy that differs from traditional talk therapy and psychiatric medication (that you have already unsuccessfully tried seems negative!), is that you understand why your thoughts are out of control and learn how to gain that control. Whether for yourself or your child, we use ERP Therapy to help you break free from the constant need for seeking reassurance, questioning, worries, and/or repeated behaviors like hand washing or checking. At our center, parents are a part of the therapeutic process every session and learn how to support their child in a way that stops the obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.
To learn more about ERP for OCD, read our blog, “Exposure Therapy and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder” and “OCD in Children”.
*The effectiveness of diagnosis and treatment vary by patient and condition. Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, LLC does not guarantee certain results.
