OCD Diagnosis & Treatment
At Emmaus CBT/Cognitive Therapy of Staten Island, we provide high quality evaluations and diagnostics, allowing for early identification of OCD. In addition, our skilled clinicians have a specialty in its treatment under the direction of Dr. Constance J. Salhany, Ph.D, A-CBT. Statistics show that people have wasted up to 9 years in seeking help with OCD, before finding a clinician to properly diagnose the OCD. In order to prevent this from happening, it is essential that people seek diagnosis from a well trained clinician.
Treatment Options
According to research studies, people spend an average of 17 years from the onset of OCD to finding appropriate treatment. Many therapists claim to do CBT, but few are well-trained and experienced in the most effective treatment modality for OCD, namely Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Not all therapists do the same thing, and talk-therapy alone may be helpful for some things, but it is not the state of the art treatment for OCD. There is a wide evidence base in the research showing that ERP is effective in the treatment of OCD.
The International OCD Foundation describes ERP as the following:
- Expose oneself to an anxiety-provoking situation with the intent of activating a feared response through thoughts, images, and situations.
- Prevent the compulsion (or “rituals”) that normally would temporarily reduce anxiety.
Response prevention intentionally confronts a feared response, without engaging in compulsions that would ordinarily follow.