Treatment and management of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Need to know

What you need to know

• A specific type of behavioural therapy, considered the 'gold standard' psychological treatment for OCD.
• Exposure: Deliberate confrontation with feared stimuli (internal or external).
• Response Prevention: Actively refraining from performing compulsive rituals.
• Mechanism: Works through habituation, where anxiety naturally subsides with prolonged exposure.
• Breaks the link between an obsession and the compulsion used to seek relief.

Explanation

Treatment and management of obsessive-compulsive disorder

1. A specific type of behavioural therapy, considered the 'gold standard' psychological treatment for OCD.
2. Exposure: Deliberate confrontation with feared stimuli (internal or external).
3. Response Prevention: Actively refraining from performing compulsive rituals.
4. Mechanism: Works through habituation, where anxiety naturally subsides with prolonged exposure.