|
|
|
|
|
OCD TREATMENT & ARTICLES
|
Get FREE OCD advice in 24 hours from NY specialist, Doctor Steven Brodsky, who is an OCD expert.
Email Dr. Brodsky or call 212-726-2390 with your confidential questions about MEDICATION-FREE cognitive behavioral therapy for OCD obsessions, panic, and compulsions. (Only NY-NJ-CT calls please.)
Take the OCD test by clicking on "OCD SELF-TEST" (above left).
TREATMENT OF OCD (scroll down), find a therapist or OCD group, help a friend or relative:
|
Read about Dr. Brodsky's method in Confronting the Bully Of OCD, by former OCD sufferer Linda Maran, and how it helped overcome OCD without medication, available at Amazon.com. Email your questions to Dr. Brodsky at sjbrodsky@aol.com or call 212-726-2390.
|
WHAT IS THE TREATMENT OF OCD?
OCD is a very treatable condition and, in many cases, medication might not be necessary. Hundreds of research studies agree that the best treatment for OCD is a form of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy known as "exposure response-prevention" (ERP), which I practice. ERP helps OCD sufferers overcome their fears and reduce their compulsive behaviors gradually, at a pace they're comfortable with. While results are gradual, ERP does not require long term Traditional psychotherapy. Results occur in months not years. ERP has been shown more effective in the long run (in terms of curing and preventing later relapses) than either medication or other therapies. Medication helps many people reduce their symptoms, but the symptoms bounce right back once you stop the meds. ERP, by contrast, provides OCD sufferers with a skill or technique to "boss back" the OCD and reclaim their lives. This gives them a skill to prevent relapses. The majority of my OCD clients, and I've seen many severe cases, benefit from therapy with no medication at all. And those who are on meds, can even be weaned off of them after ERP therapy is concluded. Having said that, I have recommended medication to people who are too severe to even engage in therapy, but I usually save it as a last resort. I usually recommend to others that they start with the therapy first and see how far they can go without meds. You can always add them later if needed. However, if you are on meds now, I would not drop them until your condition has largely been stabilized by ERP, and I would only recommend weaning off them while you continue with the ERP therapist for some months after.
There are a variety of medications that are used, such as Luvox, Zoloft, Anafranil, and some have used Prozac and Paxil. Different things work for different people.
HOW CAN I FIND AN OCD THERAPIST?
I practice in Manhattan, NY City and I would be happy to offer you a free phone consultation at 212-726-2390. If you're out of the NY area, you can also find a therapist in your area by getting a referral from the OC Foundation in New Haven, CT (www.ocfoundation.org) and/or from the Association for the Advancement Of Behavior Therapy (www.AABT.org). The OC Foundation is a link on my website home page in fact. Ask for an OCD specialist. Then call the ones they refer and interview them on the phone before you make an appointment. The person should be able to tell you they have treated SEVERAL OCD clients FOR OCD (not just for depression, etc.).
THERE ARE 2 TEST QUESTIONS YOU MUST ASK before you make an appointment: 1) Is ERP their main technique? If not, don't make an appointment. ERP is the only therapy endorsed by the OC Foundation.
2) How many people have they SUCCESSFULLY treated for OCD? By "successfully" I mean that by the end of therapy, the person is not on any medication, and is almost if not completely free of obsessions, compulsions, and excessive anxiety. They should be able to tell you they did this with at least several people.
WHY DO SOME PEOPLE HESITATE TO SEEK TREATMENT?
On some level every OCD sufferer knows something is wrong, but it's scary to accept it. Sometimes reading about OCD can help the sufferer realize they're not alone, and that OCD isn't the worst thing, even though it may currently be interfering greatly in their life.
Many OCD sufferers arrive in my office after years, in some cases decades, of refusing to get treatment. The reasons they hesitated differ with each individual. Some common reasons are they think they're the only one going through this. Some people don't know OCD can be treated. It's a lot harder to seek help if you think it's untreatable. Many others think the therapist will ask them to face their worst fears (a false assumptom I might add), which is too intimidating to them. Others fear therapy will actually make the problem worse. Some can't even leave their homes on time to go to an appointment, or can't leave home at all, because of their elaborate compulsions or avoidant behaviors. Others are simply too embarrassed by their behavior to share it with others (even though I've heard just about everything one could hear). Finally, many OCD sufferers worry that they are "going crazy" and in very extreme cases can become very depressed, anxious or in extremely rare cases actually hallucinate, and they might fear a therapist will tell them it's something worse than OCD, like schizophrenia, etc. (which it's not).
HOW CAN FAMILY AND FRIENDS HELP OCD SUFFERERS?
The most important advice I can give to the family and friends of an OCD sufferer is to empathize with what the OCD sufferer is going through. Don't let him feel blamed, he is a victim, as indeed the whole family is being victimized by OCD. It is OCD that is the enemy, not person suffering with it. He cannot stop it himself. It is important for family and friends to unite with the sufferer against the true enemy, OCD.
At the same time, family and friends should not accomodate the OCD. That would merely reinforce the problem. It's not a problem for sufferer if everyone goes along with it. So while you shouldn't scold him, you also should not perform these compulsive behaviors for him. Don't take care of chores he avoids, or allow yourself to be delayed for events and appointments. You might have to leave for appointments without him and have him join you later (or not at all).
Most importantly, don't try to persuade an OCD sufferer that his worries are irrational. That will just make him worry more. It's like telling someone not to think about a white elephant. It just makes them think about it more. I can't emphasize this enough.
It may also help to let the sufferer know that OCD is highly treatable, and that it's not the worst thing. It's a lot easier to accept they have OCD if they know it can be treated. The other good news is that it doesn't require long term psychotherapy and might not require medication. Empasize that therapy is not scary and they will never be asked to do anything they feel uncomfortable about. Finally, encourage the OCD sufferer to read some books about OCD and to view this website.
WHAT ARE SOME GOOD BOOKS OR MOVIES ABOUT OCD?
There are many books about OCD. One that I recommend is "Confronting the Bully of OCD," by my former client, Linda Maran (see top photo). It is one of the few books written by someone who actually HAD OCD, instead of by a professional. It is available on Amazon.com.
Two others that I recommend are:
When Once Is Not Enough (by Gail Steketee)
Stop Obsessing (by Edna Foa)
The cable TV show "Monk" and the movies, "The Aviator" and "As Good As It Gets," also dipict the lives of OCD sufferers.
Email Dr. Brodsky for FREE live advice within 24 hrs. from a specialist about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and therapy (medication-free CBT) or call 212-726-2390 to learn about the drug-free cure for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. (NY-NJ-CT callers only please.) Only Dr. Brodsky will ever read your questions. (This website and Dr. Brodsky's advice is for informational purposes only and is not, nor should it be construed as, treatment or diagnosis.)
|
|
|
