Although Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold-standard therapy for OCD, some clients struggle to achieve lasting gains because subtle compulsions quietly sabotage their progress. These hidden rituals—cognitive, emotional, and behavioral—can undermine ERP by reinforcing the very fears treatment is designed to address. Clinicians may misinterpret plateaus in progress as resistance or non-response, when the real barrier lies in unrecognized compulsive patterns. This presentation illuminates these nuanced obstacles and offers practical strategies for identifying and resolving them, empowering clinicians to deliver more effective ERP and help clients reclaim their lives.
Learning Objectives
- Identify subtle cognitive, emotional, and behavioral compulsions that can interfere with successful Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) treatment for OCD.
- Explain how unrecognized OCD treatment obstacles, such as “emotions as a compulsion” or past trauma dynamically interacting with OCD, can maintain symptoms despite ERP participation.
- Apply strategies for helping clients identify and disengage from hidden compulsive patterns to enhance ERP effectiveness and long-term recovery.