Article reviewers:
– Dr. Jamie Feusner
– Dr. Patrick McGrath
Can you relate to this story?
You finally figure out that the hell you are going through is OCD: an unwanted thought, image, and/or urge that violates your character and cripples you from the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep, mixed with mental and physical actions taken to make the fear and relentless anxiety stop. You learn that many people with OCD get better by doing a very specific type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)- where the core teaching is focused on accepting, not suppressing, your OCD fear. You see that you need to find a licensed therapist that specializes in ERP to help you do the treatment, given the personalization and complexities that come with both building and navigating your treatment plan. Yet, you realize that accessing an ERP specialist therapist often takes several months of time on a waitlist and also hundreds of dollars per visit.. Sound familiar?
I’m sure it does, and you’re not alone. Personally, I’d rather be punched in the gut by Mike Tyson than to have that feeling again, and I’m sure many would agree. It’s awful, and it’s why my team and I at NOCD are committed to fixing the broken OCD treatment system. ERP is the gold-standard treatment for OCD, but it has never been very accessible. Here’s the step-by-step reason as to why, in case you’ve ever wondered:
Get help with OCD
Start NowI’m sure you are fed up with this problem, and I can rest assured that my team and I at NOCD are fed up too. That’s why we are solving it. We are attacking the problem at its core: training licensed therapists to specialize in ERP, using technology to supervise them and to make their care efficient, and bringing them in-network with payers. Ultimately this will offer people with OCD affordable ERP therapy, payers the viability needed to see the true, positive, impact of treating OCD, and providers the opportunity to receive reimbursement equal to their impact.
If you are someone with OCD and you want to access a NOCD Therapist you can do so here. Also, if you are a therapist and you want to join our cause you can learn more on this page.
About the reviewers:
Jamie Feusner, MD is the Chief Medical Officer at NOCD and is Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA where he is the Director of the UCLA Adult OCD Program. Dr. Feusner is a member of the Board of Directors of the International College of Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorders and is a member of the International OCD Foundation Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board.
Dr. McGrath is Assistant Vice President of Residential Services for AMITA Health and Director of the Foglia Family Foundation Residential Treatment Center and the Alexian Brothers Center for Anxiety and OCD. He is President of OCD Midwest, President of Anxiety Centers of Illinois, Scientific Advisor at IOCDF, and author of The OCD Answer Book.