What kind of treatment plan did your counsellor/psychiatrist/psychologist/etc put you on? I don’t have a treatment plan yet and I’m trying to figure out what works for me

Hang in there. Things are really tough for me right now too. Sometimes I can’t work or I have to leave early and I just hate that. I get so frustrated and it’s really embarrassing when I have an anxiety attack and break down in front of people. Glad to hear you have some appointments set up. I just had a couple of appointments myself yesterday and I have intensive treatment coming up in a few weeks. This is so hard and debilitating...We have got to just stick it out and encourage each other when it all gets rough like this.

Lovemymum, I’m proud of you for seeking treatment. If you are able to, it might be helpful for you to write down a list of the situations that trigger your harm OCD and possible exposures to do in that situation, and show the list to your team. That might help you guys come up with a treatment plan.

Hi there! That’s a tough question but a really important one. Are you an inpatient or an outpatient? Who are your treatment providers, are there more than one of them (counselor/psychiatrist etc as you said)? What are your goals and what is motivating you to get better? If there’s an area of your life that your OCD is really preventing you from functioning in (work/school/social life/family life/etc) it might make sense to pick that as a goal and start thinking of actions you can take to get towards that goal.

Something I did while I was in treatment that really helped me was a personal values card sort by Miller, deBaca, Matthews, and Wilbourne. It helps you understand what’s important to you. If you can bring up what’s important to you to your treatment team, that might help you and them see eye to eye so you can create realistic goals that you will be willing to achieve.

In more technical terms, a treatment plan is often based off of a hierarchy of exposures (things that scare you) ranked from 1-10 or 1-100. You might want to start with the exposures that you encounter the most commonly or the ones that are the least triggering. If you have filled out hierarchies, obsessions, compulsions, triggers, etc in this app definitely show those to your treatment team.

EDMR therapy and exposure therapy

Carly, was what I said above helpful? Or do you need more advice?

I have harm OCD, and it’s often debilitating. It’s usually towards myself and those that I love. I currently have a psychologist and I’m seeing a doctor for the first time on November 14th