Adventures in Exposure Therapy

In this second of a two part exploration of OCD, Dr. H and Dr. Amy Indermuehle, a Colorado-based OCD expert, deconstruct Erin's treatment. Dr. Amy is a big fan of in vivo exposures, whether that be watching stomach-churning Youtube videos, touching forbidden items at Target, or riding out the anxiety wave in a public bathroom. Dr. Amy highlights how OCD treatment is so different from typical psychotherapy for anxiety and why so many therapists default to the much more comfortable (but counterproductive) option of trying to help patients soothe their nervous systems.

OCD is arguably the most-missed psychiatric diagnosis, for reasons that Dr. H and Dr. Amy explore. OCD is often mistaken for generalized anxiety or for bipolar disorder, with the unceasing obsessions being mislabeled as racing thoughts, and the frantic compulsions as mania.

Dr. Amy Indermuehle
http://facemyanxiety.com

Exposure and response prevention
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/10/exposure-response-prevention-for-ocd/505538/

Meds for OCD
https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/ocd-treatment/meds/

Exposure therapy and OCD-related disorders
http://jonabram.web.unc.edu/files/2012/07/Abramowitz-Jacoby-2014-misuse-of-exposure.pdf

Dr. H and Back from the Abyss
https://www.craigheacockmd.com

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