It’s one thing to be told you have POCD. It’s another to feel comfortable that your fears are “just OCD.” So is it POCD, or could you be a pedophile in denial?
POCD stands for pedophilic obsessive compulsive disorder. It’s not a separate condition from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the isolating and demoralizing experience of POCD makes it a bit unique.
[Read more…]ERP therapy (exposure and response prevention) and ExRP (exposure and ritual prevention) are psychotherapies used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). ERP was pioneered in the 1960s by British psychologist Vic Meyer. Edna Foa and her colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania further developed it and gave ERP its name in the 1970s and 1980s.
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A rarely discussed symptom of OCD is an overwhelming need to confess “sins,” even when the transgressions are very slight. Typically this will arise in the context of a marriage or romantic relationship. At first, what is confessed may not seem so minor. However, if the problem is not addressed, the confessed acts often become quite trivial.
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Deciding to seek help is a big first step. From there, it’s important to find the right therapist. You’re more likely to find success in therapy if you and your therapist are well matched. The best therapist for you has the appropriate training and expertise to treat the issues you want to work on.
When to seek therapy: It can be difficult to decide if and when psychotherapy would be helpful. A general guideline that we recommend is called the interference rule: if a problem is significantly interfering in your ability to live your life in the way you’d like, then psychotherapy may be helpful.
[Read more…]“How do I know if I’m in the right relationship?” “What if my partner isn’t the right one for me?”
Many people in romantic relationships consider questions like these from time to time. After all, such questions can be helpful to consider, even if anxiety-provoking. Evaluating a relationship can help us to notice how it is or isn’t meeting our expectations or emotional needs. It can also make it easier to tackle relationship obstacles and to identify ways of keeping relationship satisfaction strong.
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