Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Breaking the Cycle of Obsessions and Compulsions
WHAT ERP THERAPY IS
ERP is an evidence-based behavioral therapy modality designed to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It is considered as a gold standard for OCD treatment.
By gradually exposing you to the thoughts, images, objects, or situations that trigger the obsession, and guiding you through it, ERP can effectively help you learn how to avoid your usual compulsions and make different choices, thus freeing you from the suffering of the OCD cycle.
If you would like to learn more about ERP, learn about it at International OCD Foundation.
WHAT ERP THERAPY WORKS
ERP therapy have two components: exposure, and response prevention.
The exposure component of ERP refers to gradually exposing the clients to situations that provoke anxiety and obsessions.
The response prevention component refers to helping clients make a different choice other than their compulsions.
ERP is built upon the concept of habituation: when you sit with the emotional distress, the intensity of the uncomfortable feelings actually decreases over time. As your ability to tolerate emotional distress improves, you will be able to tolerate uncertainty better without feeling the need to act on your urge or engage in your rituals.
Thinking about facing your own deepest fear can be scary and overwhelming. Therefore, as an ERP therapist, I will help guide you through the process of identifying all the things that provoke your anxiety, and ranking them based on the intensity. This list is called anxiety hierarchy, or anxiety ladder.
We will start with the lowest item on the list, meaning the situation that triggers the slightest amount of anxiety. That way, you get to experience what the whole process feels like without feeling too overwhelmed. As you gain confidence, then we can slowly move up the ladder when you feel more ready.
FAQs on ERP THERAPY
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I completely understand the concern. It is okay to feel scared. But think about this: how has it been working out for you to have been avoiding your fear all these years?
I bet it’s exhausting and overwhelming…and it’s just not the ideal way to live life, is it?
Fear is actually a very common response when we are faced with uncertainty or danger. However, when the danger is perceived (not real), avoiding it will only make things worse for you in the long run. It takes freedom away from you and perpetuates the belief of “I can’t handle feeling this way”.
ERP can help you gradually realize that by staying with the emotions (instead of avoiding them), you CAN actually handle the distress, and the intensity of the discomfort will gradually drop. Eventually, these distressing thoughts and feelings will be less and less consuming for you, and you will be able to get your life back!
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Absolutely yes, ERP therapy has been proven by research to be highly effective in not only OCD treatment, but treatment for many anxiety disorders (including generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, panic disorder, etc).
Read more about its clinical effectiveness here.
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No. Panic attacks usually come from emotional avoidance or suppression. ERP is the process of gradually exposing yourself to these emotions instead of avoiding them.
It is common to experience some emotional distress when you are first exposed to your fear, but when doing so in a gradual and controlled way under the guidance of a licensed mental health professional trained in ERP, your ability to tolerate such distress will improve significantly, which actually will reduce panic attacks.
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You probably won’t believe it, but everyone has some scary thoughts in their mind every now and then. The difference between people with OCD and those without is that people without OCD simply ignore those thoughts when they come up, whereas people with OCD feel the constant need to seek reassurance or engage in rituals to cancel those thoughts.
The goal of ERP therapy is not to get rid of any thoughts or emotions (because they are common), but to learn how to better manage these unwanted internal experiences, and how to respond to them in a more healthy way when they do come up.
Interested in ERP therapy?
Schedule your FREE 30-minute consultation meeting today to ask questions about ERP therapy and find out if this therapy modality can help you with your current struggles.