What
Causes OCD? What Can Be Done to Help OCD Patients?
What
is the Behavior Therapy Program for OCD and How Does It Work?
Who Can Benefit from Behavior Therapy?
How Successful is Behavior Therapy? Does it Really Work?
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The cause of OCD is uncertain. Some behavioral scientists believe that excessively and unusually rigid childhood family relationships may be a factor. But there is increasing evidence that biological factors are significant. OCD tends to run in families, and OCD patients have been shown to have difficulty regulating the brain chemical serotonin, which regulates our sense of emotional and psychological well-being. Brain scans of persons with OCD clearly show differences in brain circuit activity versus those without OCD. Most likely, persons with OCD inherit a biological vulnerability to the disorder which may be triggered during times of severe stress such as a job change, going off to college, childbirth or divorce.
In the past, OCD was considered one of most difficult mental disorders to treat successfully. New anti-depressant medications show promise with OCD. Unfortunately, patients are often not helped by drug therapy alone, and traditional therapeutic approaches are only of limited usefulness.
The program is called exposure and response prevention treatment. It is based upon the idea that OCD symptoms represent learned, habitual responses that can be unlearned through an intensive period of exposure to the obsessively feared situations, combined with a strict prevention of ritualistic, compulsive behavior. The program encourages patients to gradually confront their fears and learn new, more appropriate responses to feared situations.
Most OCD patients, both adults and children, can benefit enormously from behavior therapy. Recent studies indicate that behavior therapy is essential to successful recovery from OCD. While not a cure all, behavior therapy offers the patient tools to successfully manage the disorder and live a fuller life. To be effective, the patient must be prepared to commit to several weeks during which he/she will be actively mastering previously feared situations, and learning more appropriate ways of handling them rather than using repetitive, compulsive behaviors.
After the initial evaluation, the patient is provided an individually tailored behavioral treatment regimen geared to helping control his/her obsessions by gradual exposure and habituation to feared situations. During this time, the patient is helped to resist engaging in compulsive rituals. Considerable home practice is often needed. Dr. Hyman frequently makes use of a behavioral assistant who assists him in carrying out the treatment procedures at home. Gradually, the patient learns to master formerly feared situations without the need to ritualize.
Studies conducted with thousands of OCD patients at leading research centers nationwide indicate that patients who undergo exposure and response prevention treatment have demonstrated success rates as high as 90%. However, many factors affect progress, including motivation, compliance to treatment, general health, and other psychological conditions.
Less than you may think. Being an active, symptom-focused treatment approach, behavior therapy brings more rapid results in much shorter time than more traditional "talk" therapy, which could drag on for years with little improvement. Most health insurance will reimburse for much of the cost of treatment. Check your individual insurance plan for details.
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