Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

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Beginning of Addendum January 1, 2022

Because I am closing my practice August 1, following is general referral information for those who are seeking therapists who specialize in OCD. If you are a current or recent client (seen within the past 12 months) you should have received specific referral information from me.

OCD Referral Information
The International OCD Foundation has a therapist search feature. Therapists listed in their database are members of the IOCDF. Go to https://iocdf.org/ and click on the Find Help banner. It will provide the opportunity to enter your location (use your zip code), number of miles radius to search and listing type. I suggest you leave the listing type blank to provide you with support group and clinic information, as well as therapists. Also, with telehealth as an option now, you may want to widen your search area to 100 or more miles. If someone is licensed in your state, they can provide telehealth services to you. Some therapists are licensed in multiple states. Many St. Louis area OCD specialists have full caseloads, and may or may not have a waiting list.

Please note that there are therapists who treat OCD who are not members of the IOCDF, so you can use other therapist databases to identify them. My strong recommendation to you is to look at the IOCDF article about identifying a therapist who has training and experience in treating OCD. You can find that information here:
https://iocdf.org/ocd-finding-help/how-to-find-the-right-therapist/

Psychology Today is one database many use to find a therapist.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us
Click on Find a Therapist, type in your zip code. Above the list of therapists you will see buttons that say Issues, Insurance, Gender etc. Click on Issues and select OCD. Click on Insurance and select your insurance carrier. If you prefer a male or female therapist, click Gender. If you want a particular faith, click More and it will give you a drop down menu to select a faith tradition. You will likely find many therapists who say they treat OCD; my caution is to ask the questions IOCDF recommends. The treatment of OCD is not the same as treating anxiety; a combination of therapies that include Cognitive-Behavioral (CBT) with Exposure and Response Prevention therapy (ERP), is what works. Many are now including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as well.
I hope this referral information is helpful!
Respectfully,
Kathy
End of Addendum
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OCD is a very real, often debilitating health disorder and it is treatable! Don't lose another day to the maddening intrusive thoughts (obsessions) that spin up your anxiety into paralyzing fear, which causes you to do, or think, certain things (compulsions) to try to calm the fears. In the initial treatment of OCD, education is critical. Once you better understand what OCD is, how it is diagnosed, how it operates, the treatment methods and your particular symptoms, then the therapy begins to help you re-frame the view you have of the thoughts that seem to chase and push you around. The information and resources provided below is a start on your education - consider it free therapy!

Presentation of OCD
OCD presents in many ways, and is often identified by the particular areas in which someone has obsessive thoughts. These include Harm OCD (intrusive thoughts of unknowingly causing harm to self or others), Taboo OCD (violent or sexual intrusive thoughts), Religious OCD, also called Scrupulosity (fear of having blasphemous thoughts or actions), Contamination OCD (fear of being contaminated or causing contamination), Somatic OCD (fear of having a disease or problem with one's body). This is not an exhaustive list but provides an idea as to the many presentations of OCD.

The resources below are a starting place to learn more from organizations dedicated to evidence-based treatment and good clinical research. Plus, see information below about the article titled Everyone Has Intrusive Thoughts. If you are a client and would like a copy of the article, please call or email me.

Jump-start your therapy
Foundation.
If you would like a jump-start on therapy, begin with Mind Over Mood to learn about Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (Intro, Chapters 1, 2, 3, then the chapters on depression and anxiety are what I recommend to begin). It is a workbook format but don't let that keep you from reading, learning and applying the knowledge you gain. Some people say, "Knowledge is power". That statement is not accurate. The application of knowledge is power - if you read and learn about your OCD, but don't actively apply the concepts you learn, nothing will change for you. Mind Over Mood is available at the St. Louis County Library, or check your local library.   You may be eager to jump to the next step-don't! ERP is a type of CBT and it is very critical you learn how your thoughts, feelings/emotions, physical body, behaviors and the environment you are in all interact and affect you every day, and how to identify and make positive changes when triggered by something, whether it is OCD related or not. For those with a Christian faith, we see the marvelous complexity of God's creation of our bodies and how any one aspect of how we are created can affect the others.

Next Step.
'Getting Over OCD - A 10-Step Workbook for Taking Back Your Life' (Second Edition) by Jonathan Abramowitz AND reading information on the IOCDF website and the IOCDF Facebook and Youtube pages. This workbook is one I strongly encourage you to use, completing the forms, and actively applying the knowledge you gain. In conjunction with your work with a therapist, this will help move you forward in treatment for you OCD.

Next Resource.
'Living Beyond OCD Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)' by Dr. Patricia Zurita Ona.   As you move through 'Getting Over OCD' you will see references to ACT. This book gives you foundational and practical information about ACT and how to apply it to your life.

General Information on OCD
International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) website https://iocdf.org/    IOCDF has many opportunities to interact with professionals and ambassadors who live with OCD through their FaceBook page. Frequent postings of meetings, vlogs, and interactive sessions can help you gain insight and knowledge. You can also go to the IOCDF videos through searching YouTube.

Intrusive Thoughts website www.intrusivethoughts.org/

Recommended Workbooks
Getting Over OCD - A 10-Step Workbook for Taking Back Your Life (Second Edition) by Jonathan S. Abramowitz, PhD
Living Beyond OCD Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Patricia E Zurita Ona, PsyD   NOTE: As of 7/19/21 I'm still reading this, but so far have found it to be a very engaging and interesting resource.

On-Line Resources
FaceBook site for IOCDF with forums for learning, asking questions and support https://www.facebook.com/IOCDF

YouTube - type in IOCDF and you will find many resources from which to choose.

Anxieties.com   A section devoted to OCD. https://anxieties.com/94/ocd/

Dr. Ted Witzig is an expert in Scrupulosity from the perspective of a mental health professional and as a Christian as well as posts information about OCD in general . This link is to resources he has produced. https://www.accounseling.org/category/mentalhealth/ocd/

Dr. Elizabeth McIngvale at the Peace of Mind Foundation.   https://peaceofmind.com/

Local/National Support Groups
National Website for Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous You can join open meetings across the country via Zoom   https://obsessivecompulsiveanonymous.org/

St. Louis Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous   Effective 4/1/21, contact Bonnie at 314-484-3419 to ask for access to the Zoom meetings during COVID. The contact information on the website is not updated. http://www.stlocdsupport.com/

Disorders Related to OCD
Information about Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Muscle Dysmorphia (MD)
IOCDF website https://bdd.iocdf.org/
IOCDF website https://bdd.iocdf.org/expert-opinions/muscle-dysmorphia/
Intrusive Thoughts website www.intrusivethoughts.org/ocd-symptoms/body-dysmorphic-disorder/

Information about Hoarding Disorder
IOCDF website https://hoarding.iocdf.org/
Intrusive Thoughts website www.intrusivethoughts.org/ocd-symptoms/hoarding/

Information about Misophonia (hearing sounds that are very disturbing)
IOCDF website https://iocdf.org/expert-opinions/misophonia/
Misophonia Association https://misophonia-association.org/misophonia-association.org/
Misophonia Support http://www.misophonia.com/
Misophonia Institute     https://misophoniainstitute.org/

Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB's)
For information about Trichotillomania (Hair-Pulling), Excoriation (Skin-Picking - face, nails, anywhere) and other related disorders, go to IOCDF https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/related-disorders/
TLC Foundation for BFRB's www.bfrb.org/
Body Focused Repetitive Disorders (Skin-Picking, Hair Pulling) https://mindfulstl.com/body-focused-repetitive-behaviors-bfrbs-treatment-groups/?fbclid=IwAR1S5FXSiaUJCVWGlaVoeTWTUKBzpn1lTvlBxURMCpymdWfwQa7OobEjUpQ

Article of Interest

In the Appendix of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Adults, Jonathan S. Abramowitz and Ryan J Jacoby have a helpful resource titled Everyone Has Intrusive Thoughts. If you are a current client of mine and would like to read this, please let me know. A brief excerpt (Appendix Three, J. S. Abramowitz and R. J. Jacoby: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Adults, copyright 2015 Hogrefe Publishing):

"What many people do not realize is that practically everyone experiences unwanted intrusive thoughts (whether or not they have OCD). These sorts of thoughts are as much a part of normal human thinking as are fantasies and daydreams about positive events. The focus of this handout is to teach you that the unpleasant, distressing, repugnant, bizarre, and senseless obsessional thoughts that you are experiencing are not dangerous or abnormal."

"...people without OCD experience the same kinds of unwanted and intrusive thoughts as do people with OCD. The list below shows some examples of intrusive thoughts reported by people without OCD:
Thought of jumping off the bridge onto the highway below
Thought of running my car off the road or into oncoming traffic
Thought of poking something into my eyes
Impulses to jump onto the tracks as a train comes into the station"

The list continues quite extensively and they further describe how someone without OCD handles these thoughts versus what someone with OCD might do.