Light On Anxiety offers Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy as an action-oriented treatment approach to OCD, intrusive or ego-dystonic thoughts, and other anxiety-related conditions. ERP involves gradually making contact with scary thoughts and training the brain to disengage from compulsions associated with those thoughts with the guidance of a wonderful LOA therapist.
Read more about ERP for Ego Dystonic Thoughts & Harm OCD
There are many different exposure techniques in ERP for helping manage and treating intrusive thoughts and OCD. Together, we can find the right treatment plan for you.
Visual Exposure
Reading or writing trigger words and stories associated with intrusive thoughts (ITs) or watching a video clip associated with an IT repeatedly for at least 2 minutes.
Auditory Exposure
Saying trigger words out loud repeatedly for at least 2 minutes. Create an audio file of a “scary story” associated with an IT, then listen to it on repeat for at least 2 minutes.
Proprioceptive Exposures
Engaging in a physical motion associated with an IT repeatedly for at least 2 minutes, or until anxiety level drops by half or more.
In Vivo Exposures
Exposing yourself to any situation or environment you are currently avoiding for fear it will bring on the IT, or that you will lose control and engage in feared behavior and spend time in that environment (without engaging in any safety behaviors or compulsions) until anxiety level drops by at least half.
Interoceptive Exposures
Interoceptive exposures bring on the sensations associated with feeling anxious to train your brain that the feelings of anxiety are uncomfortable but not dangerous (e.g. breathing through a straw to simulate the sensation of having trouble breathing). Your brain can learn it may not like feeling anxious and out of control, but it can handle these sensations.
ERP is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy designed to help individuals confront and reduce their anxiety related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by gradually exposing them to their fears and teaching them to refrain from engaging in compulsive behaviors.
While both Exposure Therapy and ERP involve exposing individuals to anxiety-provoking stimuli, ERP therapy incorporates a critical additional component: preventing the compulsive behaviors that individuals with OCD use to manage their anxiety. This dual approach makes ERP particularly effective for treating OCD, whereas traditional exposure therapy is more broadly applicable to various anxiety disorders.
An example of an Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) exercise for someone with Harm OCD involves confronting feared situations where the person believes they might inadvertently cause harm to themselves or others. This type of OCD often involves intrusive thoughts about causing accidents, making mistakes that could lead to harm, or being responsible for negative outcomes. The goal of the exercise is to expose the person to these thoughts or situations without engaging in associated compulsions.
Example of an ERP Exercise for Responsibility for Harm OCD:
Step 1: Initial Assessment
The therapist and individual identify specific fears and related compulsive behaviors. For instance, the person might have a fear of accidentally leaving the stove on and causing a fire.
Step 2: Hierarchy Development
Together, the therapist and individual co-create a hierarchy of feared situations, ranking them from least to most anxiety-provoking. An example hierarchy might look like this:
Step 3: Gradual Exposure and Response Prevention
The individual starts by engaging in the least anxiety-provoking situation and refraining from engaging in the compulsive behavior(s) (i.e. walk past the stove without checking it). The therapist provides support, guidance and coping tools throughout the process.
Step 4: Repetition and Progression
The individual repeats the exercise several times until their anxiety significantly decreases. Once they become comfortable with this level, they move on to the next item in the hierarchy, such as leaving the kitchen after using the stove without checking it. The process repeats as the individual moves through the hierarchy.
This structured approach helps the individual gradually face their fears, build resilience, and allows for benefits such as:
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