Learning Objectives

After completing this training the healthcare professional will be able to:

1. Identify characteristics of OCD
2. Identify appropriate assessment procedures for OCD
3. Identify appropriate, effective treatments for OCD
4. Identify controversial treatments for OCD

Obsessions are intrusive, irrational thoughts -- unwanted ideas or impulses that repeatedly well up in a person's mind. Again and again, the person experiences disturbing thoughts, such as "My hands must be contaminated; I must wash them"; "I may have left the gas stove on"; "I am going to injure my child." On one level, the sufferer knows these obsessive thoughts are irrational. But on another level, he or she fears these thoughts might be true. Trying to avoid such thoughts creates great anxiety.

Compulsions are repetitive rituals such as hand washing, counting, checking, hoarding, or arranging. An individual repeats these actions, perhaps feeling momentary relief, but without feeling satisfaction or a sense of completion. People with OCD feel they must perform these compulsive rituals or something bad will happen.

Most people at one time or another experience obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviors. Obsessive-compulsive disorder occurs when an individual experiences obsessions and compulsions for more than an hour each day, in a way that interferes with his or her life.

OCD is often described as "a disease of doubt." Sufferers experience "pathological doubt" because they are unable to distinguish between what is possible, what is probable, and what is unlikely to happen.

The following topics will be discussed in this training:

• A case study is presented
• What is Obsessive-compulsive disorder?
• Who gets OCD?
• What causes OCD?
• How long does OCD last?
• Is age a factor in OCD?
• Symptoms of OCD
• Obsessions
• Compulsions
• When does Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder begin?
• Is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Inherited?
• What causes Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
• What other problems are sometimes confused with OCD?
• Trichotillomania
• DSM-IV Definition
• OCD Treatment
• Educating your clients
• Psychotherapy
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Medications that are used to treat Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• How long does it take anti-obsession medications to work?
• Maintaining treatment
• Discontinuing Treatment
• Support Groups
• Is it possible to treat childhood OCD without medication?
• Side effects from Anti-OCD medications
• Will these children be on these medications forever?
• A Screening Test for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder