ERP

I feel like ERP worked really well for some of my more physical compulsions, but I feel like I'm hitting a wall now that I'm trying to work into deeper/more complicated topics. I'm AuDHD as well, which could contribute? I feel like my therapist isn't really interested in talking about things/giving insight and just wants to immediately jump into how we can turn everything into an exposure. I get that that's what ERP is, but I feel like I'm not getting enough insight from her into what's ocd thoughts, how everything breaks down, etc. I'm wondering if a different type of therapy would end up being more beneficial for me. Anyone have any thoughts?

liegeofnerd

Date posted: 15h

I totally get how you feel, that’s kind of why I have a talk therapist AND my NOCD therapist (my insurance allows for it). I’m also AuDHD so my mind is always questioning everything as well. All the best for you!

Anonymous

Date posted: 15h

I’m at the beginning of my ERP journey. I have a talk therapist and a NOCD therapist as well so I can get both needs met. They can even share info with each other, which is helpful.

Panicmixiedr...

Date posted: 15h

@Anonymous I second this! I have a NOCD therapist and a talk therapist who specializes in ADHD. I find that I can see that therapist to talk through those deeper issues and then bring those to my NOCD therapist for ERP.

Katza

Date posted: 16h

I was in a very similar position with my previous therapist, the only thing that worked for me was getting a new therapist! Some therapists have different methods of therapy and patient interaction that don’t work for everyone… I was so close to ending therapy entirely because of that! I understand how you’re feeling and I hope you are able to get a new therapist (if you want ofc) that can help with the deeper, emotional parts of OCD :)! Good luck <3

Anonymous

Date posted: 15h

I understand how you feel. We know ERP works. But sometimes we need to think about how we will feel doing the exposure and are we ready to accept how we will feel. It prepares us if we think about the exposure first. But at some point we will probably need to do the exposure.

vannahj

Date posted: 12h

That makes sense. But I feel like she's look to me to name exactly what my obsessions are, how they present, what my compulsion are, and lot of the time create my response prevention tip. But my struggle is that I just have like...general feelings and racing thoughts/rumination that I can tell are OCD related, but I don't have a good answer what the core obsession/fear is behind them, and she's not really helping me figure it out. So it's kind of like...I feel like I'm making my exposure lists on my own and winging it anyway, so I may as well just write out the list myself and put that money into a different type of therapy (or different therapist) if that makes sense.

Anonymous

Date posted: 6h

@vannahj - I'm not saying you should change. But, if you don't feel you are getting the help you would like, maybe a change would be helpful. If you are in a support group, your might see how a different therapist approaches the same topic. Some people provide a different insight even though you are talking about the same topic. Using a sports analogy, every football team has a coach. All the coaches do the same job. However, some coaches are just better than others. Some personalities blend better with others.

Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 15h

I went through a year of ERP, then when my next OCD episode hit, I started talk therapy with someone who specialized in OCD and other issues I have. ERP is kind of like a recipe, you just have to follow directions no matter what kind of compulsions you have. I feel like there is a traumatic angle for me for a lot of my obsessions; it's not quite so simple that all my symptoms came just from being born this way. I am working on a lot of somatic exercises with my current therapist and doing ERP as homework, basically.

#happiness

Date posted: 12h

@Anonymous What are somatic exercises?

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