An Overview of OCD With Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Exposure Response Prevention What CBT & ERP is and How They Are Used in Today's Health Field to Treat OCD
CBT and ERP are two different treatment options available to treat OCD. CBT is short for cognitive behavioral therapy. This therapy is a talking therapy that aims to solve problems by focusing on identifying the thoughts, emotions and habits that lead to a person repeating the same pattern that leads to the problem.
ERP is short for exposure and response prevention. This is a treatment method that has the subject confronting their fears. It also identifies the thinking process and emotional patterns used that leads to the subject repeating a habit. It then attempts to get the person to respond differently to the way he or she used to respond by refraining from the previous behavior.
Both therapy methods are used to treat OCD. It all begins with cognitive behavior therapy. The therapist will talk to the patient. The focus will not be on the events of the past but rather more on the current problems. The goal here is to learn about the patient and even develop a relationship with the patient.
Trust is very important to the treatment process as patients need to have confidence and feel comfortable about the treatment process. After some trust has been established, the therapist will give the patient advice on how to think as well as suggestions on how to deal with their OCD.
An example is helping patients understand that they can make their own choices. Rather than submit to OCD, they can strengthen their ability to make a decision with beliefs such as "I washed my hands because of my anxiety." This allows patients to see that they have options rather than succumbing to the thought process of something like "I have to wash my hands."