ERP, do's and dont's, and practical therapy tips

Convinced you'll be the one person who does Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) wrong? This one's for you. Jess Hayes and Laura Mole walk through how ERP actually works — who picks the exposures, how scary they need to be, and why you genuinely cannot fail — plus what happens when therapy ends.Exposure and Response Prevention is all about exposing yourself to your OCD fears (exposure) and then making active choices in not engaging in compulsions and avoidance (response prevention) to challenge the OCD, and it is often referred to as the 'gold standard' of OCD treatment. This episode explores why it can be a helpful approach, and future episodes will discuss some alternatives. Podcast by Laura Mole, Adv. Dip, MBACP OCD specialist therapistandJessica Hayes, Msc PGDip, BABCP Accred OCD and perinatal specialist therapistandChristian Nickson, editorTime stamps:02:00 Brain spam05:20 OCD brains need to obsess07:20 Compassionate other voices 09:20 ERP as the gold standard, what is it?10:45 Amygdala, the brain, and the threat response 15:44 How ERP fits into cognitive behavioural therapy18:40 Which CBT treatments are unhelpful for OCD21:45 Brody and their contamination OCD24:20 How might ERP look like for Brody?26:30 What we don't do with ERP27:10 Do you have to immediately do exposures?27:30 Who picks the exposures? 28:30 You are in control and what to do if you aren't ready?29:28 You can't fail your ERP31:15 How scary should exposures be? How Brody tackles ERP34:29 What to do to make ERP work?36:00 How family and other support can help 41:10 What comes after therapy?43:00 When does ERP not work? 46:34 ERP is imperfect 49:05 Questions from the listeners: ERP and medication51:20 Key takeaways for ERP for OCD51:55 OCD Weekly Wins52:56 Exposure Lab feedback55:20 Exposure Lab for contamination OCD56:20 Thank you and goodbyesGet in Touch:Got intrusive thoughts to share or questions for us:Email us at [email protected] us on Instagram and Tiktok: @justcheckingpodFor our individual OCD pages, you can find Laura on Tiktok and Instagram as @ocdtherapylaura and Jess as @jess_helps_your_ocdPlease check out our privacy policy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YJZ4Sdh4OpxjRR9twGY6dOMH9n55Mq6qTqLBxOtN3Fw/edit?usp=sharing Content Warnings:We do reference some thoughts that people may find distressing so please listen with caution if this is you, and take a break if you need to. Disclaimer This podcast provides educational content only and is not a substitute for professional mental health support, please contact a mental health professional for advice and support.