Author Description

"OCD is characterized by obsessions, which include intrusive thoughts, images or impulses that cause discomfort and distress, and/or compulsions, which are compensatory behaviors, habits, routines or rituals performed in an attempt to achieve temporary relief from discomfort. We have excellent evidence-based therapies for OCD, described later in this chapter, which are typically delivered in an outpatient setting with one, or at most two sessions, scheduled each week. Intensive treatment takes the traditional elements of the established evidence-based treatments and delivers them with higher frequency. This may be recommended because symptoms are too severe to address in less intensive treatment, or to condense treatment into a shorter time period. There is strong research support indicating that intensive treatment works as well as traditional weekly interventions, and may have additional qualitative benefits"--