In episode 509 I chat with Ian O’Brien. Ian is a psychotherapist based in Dublin, Ireland, who specialises in OCD.
We discuss his OCD story including relationship OCD (rOCD) and pOCD, getting therapy, support groups, and becoming a therapist. We then discuss his research on why people struggle to engage with ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) in which he analysed over 100 interviews from The OCD Stories podcast to explore the real challenges people face in starting, sticking with, or completing ERP. He shares the three major themes that emerged where people struggled with ERP including lots of sub themes, and suggestions for improvements in ERP, and much more. Hope it helps.
The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans and if they currently take your insurance head over to https://go.treatmyocd.com/theocdstories
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Find out more about Ian:
Website: https://www.ocdtherapy.ie/
All his articles on the findings of his study: https://www.ocdtherapy.ie/blog
Ian’s research study into ERP engagement challenges: (Temporarily unavailable while under review for journal publication. A public version will be made available soon in the resource library at ocdtherapy.ie)
Resources:
Research studies discussed in the episode:
Public Perceptions of Exposure and Response Prevention for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/jyp4z_v1
Assessing exposure and response prevention readiness for clients with obsessive compulsive disorder and co-occurring conditions: A decision-making model and case example – https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2023-81572-001
OCD Ireland – https://ocdireland.org/
Jonny Say OCD and the therapeutic relationship episode
Resources: https://theocdstories.com/resources
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All the best,
Stuart