Outline And Evaluate Two Psychological Explanations Of Ocd Research Paper

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Outline and Evaluate 2 Psychological Treatments of OCD One psychological treatment of OCD is Behavioral Therapy. According to the behavioral explanation of OCD, both obsessions and compulsions have been acquired through conditioning and therefore, in order to recover, patient must unlearn these behaviours. This can happen by Exposure and Response Prevention therapy. ERP therapy aims to provide opportunities for reconditioning and consists of two components. Firstly there is exposure, and in this element, the patient is repeatedly presented with the feared stimulus until anxiety subsides, known as habituation. The exposures move gradually from least to most threatening in manner similar to systematic desensitization. However, If the pace is too slow, patients may lose motivation. The underlying principle of this explanation is that the anxieties persist due to negative reinforcement. ERP aims to break this cycle by forcing the patient to experience the stimulus and learn, through association and relaxation, that it no longer produces anxiety. The second part of the process is Response prevention. The patient is prohibited from engaging in their usual compulsive ritual. This is important in order for the patient to recognize that anxiety can be reduced without the…show more content…
Cognitive therapies aim to identify, challenge and modify dysfunctional beliefs. Firstly, the therapy tackles obsessions, the therapist questions how patients interpret their beliefs, including why they think they are true and why they think their obsessions developed. These beliefs are then challenged and reinterpreted so the patient never has any activity that causes them anxiety. Then the therapist questions the patient’s value of their compulsion and will help them prove that their belief is false and this in turn helps control the

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