For anyone new to exposure-based therapy, such as exposure and response prevention (ERP), there is often much anticipatory anxiety about starting treatment. "What is it? What will it be like? How bad will it be? Can I handle it? Will I be forced to do things I'm...
Does Non-Avoidance = Exposure? No! Anxiety Disorder Treatment Principles for OCD, Panic, Social Anxiety, & Phobias.
Anxiety Principle of the Day: Non-Avoidance is not equivalent to exposure. Although exposure is predicated upon the purposeful non-avoidance of anxiety-related stimuli, non-avoidance of anxiety triggers is not equivalent to exposure. What is non-avoidance? I liken...
Exposure Therapy’s Most Common Mistake: All Eggs in the Habituation Basket
Many people have an incomplete understanding of exposure therapy... ...be it exposure and response prevention (ERP) for OCD, intentional mistake practice for social anxiety, or interoceptive exposures for panic disorder... This is true for exposure newbies, seasoned...
OCD Treatment: OCD vs. Me. How do I Tell the Difference?
Question: Because many of my OCD rituals are related to my professional identity, I'm worried that changing my rituals will somehow change those parts of me that I like (e.g., my personal goals and ambitions). Should I be concerned about this? Early Onset OCD in Kids...
Pure-O OCD Rituals: Starting Over, Resetting, & Undoing
Question: It's hard to describe this, but I feel like every few days I need to mentally "start over" by doing a variety of mental and behavioral rituals. I don't want to live like this, but I'm afraid that if I undergo treatment and stop my OCD rituals, I won't be the...
School Refusal & Parental Stigma: Am I a Bad Parent?
Like any other behavior, school refusal does not have a singular cause. This is pretty self-evident, but in the heat of the moment when your child is having a tantrum, this fact is quickly forgotten. It is simply too easy to conclude that you have raised a "bad...
School Refusal Causes (Social & Anxiety-Related Factors)
With the summer quickly fading to black and the academic year looming largely, we will soon be entering the season of school refusal. When I use the term "school refusal," I'm not talking about that once-in-a-blue-moon occasion when a child forgets about an important...
Test Anxiety Treatment & Diagnostic Considerations
When considering treatment for test-taking anxiety, make sure that you have a comprehensive diagnostic assessment to rule out other possible causes of your symptoms. Not all cases of test anxiety are alike, and sometimes symptoms of test anxiety actually reflect a...
OCD perfectionism & social anxiety treatment: Tweet your way to greater health
Looking for ways to overcome social anxiety or OCD-related perfectionism? At the end of this post, you'll find some strategies I use to help individuals in South Florida (Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, & Miami) overcome their anxiety....
Perfectionism in OCD: When the pursuit of success turns toxic
There is more than one type of perfectionist. First, there is the adaptive perfectionist. This perfectionist is the prototypical workaholic student/employee who goes above and beyond expectations. This person is intelligent, hard-working, dependable, and passionate...