Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Treatment Options
Have you been looking for OCD Therapy in Lexington or Maybe Online in Kentucky?
Have you been struggling with unwanted thoughts, images or obsessions? Having you been spending much of your time mental reviewing past events, doing repetitive behaviors or rituals or maybe seeking reassurance from others. If this sounds familiar, you maybe struggling with OCD.
What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
Interested in learning more about our approach to treating OCD? Reach out to us today to learn more!
Common Compulsion Symptoms
Excessive or ritualized handwashing or personal grooming activities
Frequent checking and re-checking of items or actions
Mentally replaying or reviewing conversations to look for mistakes or if they did something harmful.
Avoiding situations, events or activities for fear of acting on unwanted impulse, fear of becoming sick or contamination.
Repetitive tapping or movement to help reduce anxiety or to feel just right.
Redoing or repeating activities (such as writing, reading, going through doors or moving)
Excessive need to counter or neutralize unwanted thoughts or images.
Excessive counting or having to do things to a certain number.
Excessive apologizing or seeking reassurance or validation from others.
Excessive researching for information or reviews until they feel they found “just right information”.
Signs you may benefit from therapy for OCD
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can present in variety of intensity with some individuals completely debilitated by their symptoms while other individuals experience some stress and anxiety with minimum to moderate impact on their daily functioning. Some individuals may notice that their symptoms are mostly easy for them co-exist with little impact on their daily functioning and until they are going through a stressing event or change.
If you are noticing that you are noticing that your obsessions or compulsions are impacting your ability to be on time to events or work, bringing you intense anxiety, are making it hard for you to leave your house, having a negative impact on your physical health/personal hygiene, leaving you feeling hopeless or wishing to be dead, or having having a negative impact on relationships in your life. It is likely that you would benefit from starting therapy. The most recommended form of therapy for OCD is exposure response prevention or ERP, where you gradually learn to build tolerance to the distress and anxiety the thoughts through exposures and the learning ways to work through stressors without or reduction of compulsions. Other forms of therapy have also been found effective include I-CBT and ACT with exposures.
At New Step Therapy, we have therapists who have received specialized trainings to treat OCD through exposure therapy both in person at our Lexington, KY office or online via video throughout Kentucky. We provide therapy options for kids, pre-teens, teens, and adults who may be experience OCD or related diagnosis that may benefit from exposure therapy. We currently have the following therapists on our OCD treatment team: Danielle Jennings, LCSW; Rick Marino, LPCA
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition involving both obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are unwanted and/or intrusive thoughts, urges or images that brings a person distress, anxiety or discomfort having and keep recurring. Compulsions are repetitive mental or physical actions that a person engages in to try and reduce or prevent the anxiety, stress and discomfort of the obsession. Individuals with OCD often struggle with uncertainty of things, often struggling with trusting self and/or experience a cycle of feelings related to shame or guilt. These obsessions an often present in themes with common ones being harm, contamination, perfection, religious, sexual, responsibility, identity, meta, existential, relationship and more.
OCD Symptoms
Common Obsessions Symptoms
Excessive worry or thinking about possible contamination
Horrific or Distressing images of harm coming to self or others.
Fearful thoughts of something bad happening to self or others
Excessive time worrying about physical symptoms or changes with body or health.
Strong urge to have things feel or look “just right”.
Fear of being seen or mistaken to be a “bad person” or hurt another person’s feelings.
Aggressive or horrific thoughts about losing control and harming yourself or others.
Unwanted thoughts, including aggression, or sexual or religious subjects.
Excessive fear about dying and ways to avoid this or how they should be living before they die.
Excessive worry about relationships being the right fit or questioning if they like someone.
New Step Therapy Treatment Approach for OCD