Interoceptive exposure (IE) involves using exercises (e.g., hyperventilation) to deliberately evoke feared bodily sensations (e.g., shortness of breath; tightness in chest). It is most commonly associated with panic disorder treatment. In a recent paper, anxiety disorders expert and UNC professor Dr. [...]
Throughout the years, I’ve written a series of blogs posts on exposure therapy, including the use of exposure therapy in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. In the absence of much guidance on using exposure in ACT, I co-authored a theoretical paper on its [...]
Exposure and Response prevention (ERP) is the most effective treatment for OCD. However, it remains under-utilized by therapists even though it is preferred by people with OCD who are educated about treatment options. Therapist avoidance and lack of understanding about [...]
Much of what drives people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a fear of uncertainty. People with OCD may engage in frequent and/or time consuming rituals in order to ward off a feared outcome, no matter how remote the chance. As [...]
Greater Research Support for Behavior Therapy over Medication Trichotillomania (or trich for short) is a condition in which people repeatedly pull out their body hair, often leading to bald patches and thinning. The scalp is a common site—as are eyebrows [...]
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a serious and disabling problem for many people. Understandably, many people seek out medication to help with this problem, and research is shown that medication can be helpful some people. However, research is also very clear [...]
I resonated with a recent article in Psychology Today about the difficulties people have in finding therapists who offer effective treatment. The authors Dean McKay and Scott Lilienfeld—especially Dr. Lilienfeld—have been extremely active in promoting science-based psychotherapies. As an example, [...]
Although OCD is commonly used to describe someone who is overly tidy, this stereotype doesn’t capture the common struggles of someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Perhaps as a consequence of stereotypes such as this, many people with OCD suffer for years [...]
Excoriation or skin picking has often been in the shadow of its nearest relative, trichotillomania or repetitive hair pulling. One good thing to come out of the DSM-5 was that it finally made skin picking disorder an official diagnosis—excoriation. Prior to the DSM-5, there was [...]
Numerous studies have now shown that Exposure and Response (or Ritual) Prevention (ERP) remains our most effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In ERP, clients deliberately confront feared stimuli while learning to refrain from engaging in compulsions. Even with the effectiveness [...]