Melissa Mose, a specialist in OCD treatment, discusses integrating IFS into OCD therapy, the challenges of treating OCD, and how IFS enhances traditional interventions. Topics include brain glitch theory in OCD, treating protective parts, trust-building in therapy, and promoting IFS-informed approaches to OCD.
IFS offers a compassionate, experiential alternative to CBT for OCD treatment, integrating elements of ERP for personalized healing.
Understanding OCD as a neurological 'hiccup' reveals the interconnected roles of scanning parts and protective systems in symptom manifestation.
Deep dives
Melissa Moze: Shifting from CBT to IFS for OCD Treatment
Melissa Moze discusses her transition from treating OCD with CBT to using IFS, highlighting the benefits of IFS in providing a more nuanced, experiential approach to exposure-based treatment. She emphasizes the importance of attachment and areas common with IFS in her therapeutic journey, drawing parallels between IFS sessions and exposure with openness and curiosity. By integrating IFS with ERP, she enhances the treatment's effectiveness by staying experienced near with clients' specific parts, fostering a more personalized and holistic healing process.
Understanding the Neurological Mechanisms in OCD Development
Melissa Moze sheds light on the neurological glitches that contribute to OCD, likening it to a 'hiccup in the brain' that triggers repetitive scanning and intrusive thoughts in individuals with OCD. She explains how low thresholds in scanning parts amplify obsessions and reinforce compulsive behaviors. By delving into the brain's negative feedback loop and the reinforcing nature of compulsions, she highlights the complex interplay between genetic, neurological factors, and behavioral patterns in OCD development.
Comprehensive Structure of OCD Protective System through IFS Lens
Melissa Moze elucidates the structure of the protective system in OCD, delineating the roles of managers and firefighters in managing obsessions and compulsions. She identifies hypervigilant parts, scanning parts, and warriors as common managers, narrating their tendency to stir up anxiety and perpetuate obsessive cycles. Additionally, she explores various firefighter personas like fixers and reassurance seekers, shedding light on their roles in mitigating distress and tackling OCD symptoms.
IFS-Informed Exposure Therapy for OCD Treatment
Melissa Moze introduces an IFS-informed exposure therapy approach for OCD, emphasizing the significance of turning towards previously avoided stimuli with openness and curiosity. She redefines traditional ERP techniques into 'ERP: Encounter and Relate to Parts,' highlighting the role of protectors in facilitating exposures. By integrating IFS principles into exposure therapy, she underscores the importance of relational healing, self-led encounters with parts, and response prevention to enhance OCD treatment outcomes.
In this episode, we discuss understanding OCD through an IFS lens. We explore particular challenges in treating OCD that arise from the interplay of the neurological and psychological factors that underly the condition. We also discuss how IFS integrates effective elements of other empirically validated treatments for OCD, and why IFS enhances the effectiveness of these interventions.
Melissa Mose, LMFT, has been in private practice for 30 years and has specialized in working with OCD for roughly half of that. She is currently the president of OCD Southern California, an affiliate of the International OCD Foundation and she is an international speaker and educator on Obsessive Compulsive disorder. As a Level 3 trained and certified Internal Family Systems therapist and an IFSI-approved professional consultant, Melissa is committed to developing a more compassionate, IFS-informed approach to evidence-based treatment for OCD. She is currently working on several projects designed to raise awareness, improve early identification and a wider range of treatment options for individuals with OCD.
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