ERP Therapy – A Well-Guarded Secret?

by stuart miles freedigitalphotos.net

OCD Awareness Week has come and gone and there were many successful, informative events to help all those whose lives have been touched by obsessive-compulsive disorder. I think the IOCDF always does a great job with its programming.

There was also attention paid to OCD through the national media, though I’m not sure if the two shows I watched/listened to were broadcasted because of OCD Awareness Week. While I think the productions both did a good job debunking the myths of OCD and illustrating what the disorder is all about (as much as you can without actually having OCD), I believe they were sorely lacking in one extremely important area – treatment.

The first show was a podcast sponsored by American Public Media. Six people with OCD recorded their thoughts and feelings throughout the course of a day, giving the listener an idea of how OCD operates. I think it was a great idea. But I kept waiting for the host of the program – or anyone – to inform us that, if you have OCD, you do not have to be controlled by it – it is treatable. While I realize that treatment was not the focus of the podcast, I also believe that not saying anything about recovery leads people to believe “that’s the way it is,” and there is no treatment for the disorder. I wasn’t asking for a lot. One sentence saying, “OCD is very treatable” would have satisfied me. But there was nothing. NOTHING! I think one of the six people with OCD might have used the word “Prozac” once in passing but that was it.

The second event was a segment of 60 Minutes with author John Green (The Fault in Our Stars, Turtles All the Way Down). John has obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is the subject of his novel Turtles All the Way Down. What an inspiration he is to everyone (young people in particular) with OCD! When asked what he does to help himself, I believe his only answer was “exercise.” I don’t know what type of therapy, if any, Mr. Green has tried, but again, I was still hoping that at some point during the broadcast the interviewer would throw in at least one sentence: “OCD is treatable.” But sadly, again, nothing.

I believe these firsthand accounts of living with OCD are invaluable. I really do. But when you (or a loved one) are suffering from this potentially devastating disorder, the only question you’re likely asking is “How can I get better?” I believe we are doing a poor job of answering this question.

Ten years ago my son Dan suffered from severe OCD. As my book jacket says, “he went from seven therapists to ten medications to a nine-week stay at a world-renowned residential program.” I believe exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy saved Dan’s life, but finding this treatment was difficult. I became an advocate for OCD awareness and proper treatment precisely for this reason – to let others know that ERP therapy is the evidence-based, first-line psychological treatment for OCD as recommended by the American Psychological Association, and to spread the word that OCD, no matter how severe, is treatable.

Ten years later, for reasons that I just can’t fathom, this therapy still seems to be a well-guarded secret.