Why Family Based exposure Therapy for OCD and Anxiety?  Because it works!

Is OCD or an anxiety disorder running family life and bossing everyone around and you or the family is experiencing chaos?  Let's talk about how to support your child, teen, or adult family member in exposure-based therapy for OCD or an anxiety disorder.

It has been clinically proven that when supportive family members are involved in exposure-based therapy with their loved one the treatment outcomes are bettter.   Too often I hear from parents and partners that they were never involved in a single therapy session with their child or partner.

With 35 years of experience working in the area of OCD and anxiety disorders treatment, I understand the tremendous challenges my clients and their families face.  It's not easy to find effective evidence-based treatment with experienced therapists.  

My goal is to make my client and their families experts in understanding how OCD and anxiety cycles operate and how to effectively apply paradoxical skills to lessen symptoms and improve the quality of family life. I educate my family teams about the issue of family accommodation and how problematic it can be for my clients. Well-intentioned and totally understandable, but if you are running interference for my client’s OCD or anxiety disorder you are contributing to growing it. 

I offer large and small psychoeducational classes to clients and their families. 

What can you do when a loved one won’t seek help for their OCD or anxiety and it's impacting your life and the lives of other family members?  Are you feeling caught in an OCD/anxiety trap?  Are you exhausted and frustrated? Nothing seems to help?

It's called recovery avoidance and it's common.  It refers to behaviors and attitudes that hinder or delay the process of recovery from a mental health condition.  It can manifest in various ways, such as avoiding seeking professional help, ignoring or denying symptoms, minimizing the impact of the condition, or avoiding situations that could lead to treatment or recovery.  

Individuals living with OCD and anxiety disorders are often embarrassed about their symptoms and unwilling to talk with a mental health professional or their family doctor.  There is a lot of misunderstanding and stigma around this neurological disorder.  There is also a tendency to view exposure-based therapy (ERP) as daunting and too scary.  They are terrified at the prospect of stopping rituals and avoidance behaviors and confronting the triggers that they are scared of. Recovery avoidance is NOT about laziness or willfulness.  My clients are terrified.  So they may not seek help at all or they end up with ineffective therapy that actually backfires and makes them worse. 

You have tried to help and persuade your loved one that they don't need to be afraid of the triggers and have done your best to use logic and rational arguments with their worries.  Nothing seems to work for long.  In fact, you have noticed that repeatedly providing reassurance is making their fears and symptoms worse rather than better.  You may have fallen into the family trap of accommodating the OCD or anxiety disorder.  You may now be participating in the rituals or helping your family member with avoiding triggers.  Lecturing, nagging, pleading, criticizing, arguing, shaming, and guilting - nothing works. Everyone in the family is upset.  

Maybe your anxious teen wants you glued to them because of separation anxiety or next to them in bed because they are too afraid to sleep alone.  Maybe your anxious partner with OCD wants you to wash your hands over and over before you touch the children. Maybe your partner with panic disorder refuses to drive now and is having trouble leaving the house.  Life is getting more and more complicated and you don't know what to do anymore.  

If your loved one won't seek help for their OCD or anxiety disorder, then seek professional assistance for yourself.  Come and see me and let's talk about how you can break free from the OCD cycle even if your family member refuses help at the moment. By changing your own behavior you can ultimately help your loved one.  

The best case scenario is your loved one meeting with me and learning the principles of successful exposure with your help.  I can teach parents and partners how to develop a team attitude and how to coach my client effectively between therapy sessions for best results.  I can teach you how to build a recovery-friendly,  therapeutic home environment.  

I believe in empowering my clients and their families with knowledge and skills to be able to live a life according to one’s values…. not fears!

Take your first step and email me at jcarykccbt@gmail.com and let’s arrange for a free 15-minute consultation to see if exposure-based therapy is right for you or your family member.   Let's chat about how you can get your life back.