EXPOSURE AND RESPONSE PREVENTION (ERP)​

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LAKES CENTER IS NOW OFFERING EXPOSURE
AND RESPONSE PREVENTION (ERP) THERAPY FOR OCD AND
A VARIETY OF ANXIETY DISORDERS.

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Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold standard treatment of OCD as well as for many Anxiety Disorders.  ERP is an evidence-based treatment which can improve OCD symptoms up to a 47% under the guidance of an ERP trained therapist.  The program we follow here at Lakes Center Mental Health Network can provide a significant improvement in a short period of time.

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ERP is a special kind of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), working with thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and how they interact with each other.  Treatment can free our patients from the ongoing toxic thought and behavior cycle, which is reinforced over time.

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As the name suggests, there are two main parts to ERP:

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Exposure:  We help our patients step outside of their comfort zone, as well as recognize and confront their triggers.

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Response Prevention:  We give our patients the tools to resist compulsions and disrupt the rituals, safety behaviors, and protections they use to calm their thoughts. They learn to accept uncertainty, resist the urge to perform the compulsions, and can even break the patterns of their OCD or Anxiety Disorders.

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Some of the most common disorders we treat with ERP are:

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

• Generalized Anxiety

• Social Anxiety

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Hoarding Disorder

• Tics / Tourette’s 

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WHAT IS OCD, AND WHY IS ERP SO SUCCESSFUL IN TREATING IT?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is characterized by obsessive, recurring, unwanted, and intrusive thoughts, urges, or images. These can result in a person experiencing mild to severe anxiety, distress, uncertainty, and sometimes emotions such as panic, guilt, and shame. To try to reduce the anxiety, they often feel driven to perform repetitive behaviors and mental acts that can take on a ritualistic quality - these behaviors are called compulsions.  Many who suffer from OCD are aware of these thoughts, urges, and behaviors, yet are unable to control them.

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Common OCD compulsions:

• Repeated Hand-washing – sometimes to the point of chapped and bleeding hands

• Checking and re-checking to seek reassurance

• Excessive cleaning and organizing

• Counting actions or things around you, and having to go back to start over if you lose track

• Avoiding things/actions, or urge to do things otherwise something bad will happen

• Non-stop ruminating about past events and conversations

• Mental compulsions such as questioning, canceling / undoing

• Hoarding - buying too much or difficulty throwing things away, letting things go

• Avoidance of people, places, and things

• Constant thoughts about harming someone

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With ERP therapy, our patients gain the insight to recognize these OCD triggers, thoughts, and compulsions. They learn to accept uncertainty, learn techniques to resist the urge to perform the compulsions, and can even break the patterns and cycle of their OCD.

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Here at Lakes Center, we have an ERP trained therapist ready to help break your cycle of intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.

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If you struggle with any of the compulsions listed above but do not already have a diagnosis, we can schedule times for diagnostic testing to see if ERP would be right for you.

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Call (248) 859-2457 to set up an appointment, or fill out the Contact Form and we will contact you!

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If you need immediate in-person help, go to your nearest emergency room or call 911.  For free support via text:  Text the word HOME to 741741 to reach a trained Crisis Counselor through Crisis Text, or 988 to the 988 Lifeline.