ERP is considered the gold standard of OCD treatment, due to the wide body of research supporting response rate, symptom reduction, overall outcomes, and durability. But the measurement tools and the attitudes about what constitute a gold star should be reconsidered.
Traditional ERP is a well researched intervention that has helped relieve symptoms for many people with OCD. When it doesn't help, however, practitioners often have limited or misguided views on the reasons, pointing to gaps in treatment efficacy.
Many people think that doubt lies at the core of all OCD. Some therapeutic approaches, such as Inference-based CBT, go further by centering doubt as the foundational feature and primary point of intervention. While it does tend to exist at varying levels of depth and intensity, doubt is not the driving force in OCD, and using it directly in treatment can be problematic.
ERP is considered the gold standard of OCD treatment, due to the wide body of research supporting response rate, symptom reduction, overall outcomes, and durability. But the measurement tools and the attitudes about what constitute a gold star should be reconsidered.
Traditional ERP is a well researched intervention that has helped relieve symptoms for many people with OCD. When it doesn't help, however, practitioners often have limited or misguided views on the reasons, pointing to gaps in treatment efficacy.
Many people think that doubt lies at the core of all OCD. Some therapeutic approaches, such as Inference-based CBT, go further by centering doubt as the foundational feature and primary point of intervention. While it does tend to exist at varying levels of depth and intensity, doubt is not the driving force in OCD, and using it directly in treatment can be problematic.