Why We Require Parents to Complete Exposure Response Prevention Training

As a holistic OCD clinic, we are constantly examining the ways in which we can provide more comprehensive services to heal both our clients and their family systems.  When we utilize the intervention of Exposure Response Prevention (ERP), we are leaning into a very different type of therapy.  Rather than soothing our clients, we are purposefully moving towards their fears.  

As a clinic, we decided to bring parents into our OCD work with kiddos for three major reasons.  

1. Parents need to be fully on board with ERP treatment because sometimes it can be upsetting to the child.

The idea behind ERP is to teach and demonstrate with a child the principles of JOY. 

J: Jump in (Embrace discomfort)

O: Opt for Greater Good (Willingness to feel uncomfortable for a short period of time to get better long term)

Y: Yield to Uncertainty 

JOY can be deeply challenging in the beginning, and we need full child and family buy-in.  Everyone must acknowledge that temporary discomfort is worth the upset to reach the greater long-term goals.  

2. We need to identify and remove family accommodations.  

Family accommodations, which happen in almost every case of OCD, are when family members participate in OCD rituals or remove obstacles from the child’s way in order to accommodate OCD.  An example is a child that can’t leave the house on time for an event because of their bathrooming rituals.  The family might accommodate by waiting for their child, excusing their lateness as an “appointment that ran over” when they arrive, or simply staying home.  All of these decisions enable the OCD to run rampant.  

3. We all need to be on the same team, with the same goal: To Defeat OCD!

In OCD treatment, we personify the OCD as a creature or a movie character. We give it a funny name and an image. We externalize the OCD to the child, so that when parents are being tough and not waiting for the bathroom rituals, we know they are being tough on the OCD monster. I instruct parents: let’s starve the OCD monster in order to nourish your child! Children benefit greatly from knowing that their parents are aligned with treatment and are willing to face their own discomfort to battle with the OCD.

If you want to learn more about Exposure Response Prevention Training please contact us today to get started!