Specialized OCD care across Saskatchewan. Not an emergency service. Use local emergency services for immediate danger.
The strongest OCD treatment plans are not built around reassurance or generic coping tips. They target the processes that keep the disorder going.
Treatment decisions should be individualized to symptom severity, age, access, medical considerations, previous treatment and client preference.
ERP systematically approaches feared uncertainty or triggers while reducing compulsions and avoidance. It is the primary psychotherapy focus at SaskOCD.
SSRIs and related serotonergic medication strategies are established treatment options. Medication decisions require assessment and monitoring by a qualified prescriber.
ACT skills can strengthen willingness, defusion and values-based action when internal struggle becomes a barrier to doing ERP. ERP remains the treatment anchor.
A course of ERP commonly includes assessment, a personalized hierarchy or exposure plan, repeated practice and between-session work. Duration varies with complexity and response.
Identify obsessions, overt and mental compulsions, avoidance, reassurance patterns, impairment and relevant differential factors.
Choose targets and build a graded plan that is challenging enough for learning without turning treatment into coercion.
Practise contact with uncertainty or triggers while reducing the rituals that normally follow.
Use learning across situations, reduce accommodation, address relapse risks and build a plan for future flare-ups.
Treatment may need a better formulation, stronger identification of mental rituals, more attention to family accommodation, different exposure design, medication consultation, a different level of care, or attention to another condition that is affecting progress.
Instead of asking only whether anxiety decreased, ask whether compulsions are losing control over behaviour and whether life is becoming less organized around avoidance and certainty-seeking.
Evidence reference: The International OCD Foundation identifies ERP as a first-line psychological treatment for OCD and serotonin reuptake inhibitor medication as a first-line medication option. Treatment should be individualized and monitored by appropriately qualified professionals.
Start with what has been happening. SaskOCD can help determine whether specialized OCD treatment is an appropriate next step.