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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Abramowitz

By
Jonathan S. Abramowitz, PhD,

Course Description

Based on decades of scientific research and clinical refinement, cognitive-behavioral therapy using the techniques of exposure and response prevention has helped countless individuals with OCD overcome debilitating symptoms and live fuller, more satisfying lives.

From leading expert Jonathan S. Abramowitz, this volume opens with an overview of the diagnosis and assessment of OCD and delineates a research-based conceptual framework for understanding the development, maintenance, and treatment of obsessions and compulsions. The core of the book is highly practical treatment manual packed with helpful clinical pearls, therapist-patient dialogues, illustrative case vignettes, and sample forms and handouts. Readers are equipped with skills for tailoring exposure and response prevention techniques for patients with different types of OCD symptoms, including washing, checking, ordering, obsessions and mental rituals. The book, which also addresses common obstacles in treating individuals with OCD, represents an essential resource for anyone providing services for individuals with anxiety disorders.

Course Outline

Target Audience: Social workers, counselor, and other mental health professionals.

Course Content Level: Advanced

Number of CE Hours: 4

Type of CE hours: Clinical

Delivery format: Reading based asynchronous distance learning.

Course completion requirements:
How to Obtain Continuing Education Credit
Please follow the steps below to obtain the necessary contact hours of home study continuing
education credit:

1. Read course objectives.
2. Study the course text:

3. The questions for the final examination are attached here. Answer these questions by marking
your Scantron card:
Write your name on every Scantron card in the space provided. Also write the exam title
in the space marked “Subject”.
True/false examination Mark the Scantron card as follows: Use A for true answers, B for
false answers. Disregard C, D and E.
Multiple-choice questions Choose the letter of the correct answer and mark the Scantron
card accordingly.
Marking the Scantron card Use No. 2 pencil only. Make dark marks. Erase completely to
change.
4. Complete the licensure information on the examination sheet.

5. Return the scantron card, examination sheet and student evaluation of the course.
You’ll need 70% correct score on the post-test for successful completion of the course.

6. Retain a copy of the answers for your record.
Homestead Schools, Inc. is solely responsible for the quality and content of this CE
program and for the selection of its instructor/author, and receives no outside financial
support in the preparation, presentation or implementation of its CE activities.
The sponsor has no affiliation with companies whose products or services are mentioned
in this course material; they are mentioned only for their educational and
informational value. The sponsor’s sole source of revenue is the tuition paid by
participants like you in its CE program.

Instructor Credentials: N/A

ACE Provider Approval Statement: Homestead Schools, Inc., 1070, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Assoiciation of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses for continuing education credit.
ACE provider approval period: 4/2/2023-4/2/2026. Social workers completing this course receive 4 Clinical continuing education credits.

ADA Accomodations: Homestead Schools, Inc. ensures that its facilities accommodate and are accessible according to the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Cancellation/Refund Policy: Should you need to cancel your order or if you are not satisfied with the quality of our course material, you can return the course (before a certificate is issued) within 90 days and receive a prompt and full refund (less shipping and handling.)

Course last updated: December, 2024

About Authors

Jonathan S. Abramowitz, PhD, is Associate Professor and director of the OCD/Anxiety Disorders Program at the Mayo Clinic. He has written or edited four books and over 75 research articles and book chapters on OCD and other anxiety disorders. For his contributions to the field, Dr. Abromowitz has received awards from the American Psychological Association and the Mayo Clinic

Learning Objectives

  1. State the term that was used previously to identify OCD.
  2. State how the American Psychiatric Association defines OCD.
  3. Define compulsions.
  4. List several common obsessions.
  5. Compare how men and women are affected by OCD.
  6. Describe how OCD symptoms develop.
  7. Define obsessions.
  8. Compare impulsive and compulsive rituals.
  9. Describe the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale.
  10. Describe the Beck Anxiety Inventory.
  11. Discuss the findings of positron emission tomography studies in patients with OCD.
  12. Define intrusive thoughts according to the cognitive-behavioral model.
  13. Define the distal cause of OCD.
  14. List the essential features of the functional aspects emphasized in the cognitive-behavioral model.
  15. List the advantages of medication for OCD.
  16. State the basis for CBT in OCD.
  17. Describe exposure and response prevention.
  18. State how the elderly respond to medications for OCD.
  19. State the response of OCD patients with depression and anxiety to CBT.
  20. List several recommendations that should be conveyed to the patient at the beginning of CBT.
  21. List the fears of experiencing long-term anxiety.
  22. State the points that convey to the patient the symptoms of OCD that can be broken with practice.
  23. State the aim of treatment to eliminate obsessional thoughts.
  24. List the two levels of dysfunctional thinking according to Beck’s Cognitive Model.
  25. Describe safety-seeking behaviors in maintaining OCD.
  26. Define habituation.
  27. State how collaborative empiricism is promoted.
  28. Define the fear hierarchy.
  29. Describe the SUDS scale.
  30. Describe the three types of imaginal exposure.
  31. Define amplifying.
  32. List symptoms of incompleteness.
  33. Discuss why the most feared hierarchy items should be conducted during the middle third of the treatment program.
  34. State when fear reduction is most complete and durable.
  35. List examples of “normal” behavior after treatment.
  36. List 3 indicators of change during exposure-based treatment of fear according to Foa and Kozak.
  37. State the drop out and ineffectiveness statistics of CBT for patients with OCD.
  38. List negative reactions to the CBT model.
  39. Describe conflict resolution when the patient argues.
  40. Describe what to do when a patient becomes extremely anxious or emotional during an exposure.
  41. Discuss the three possibilities when a patient reports little or no distress during exposure.

Course Contents

1 Description

1.1 Terminology
1.2 Definition
1.2.1 Insight
1.3 Epidemiology
1.4 Course and Prognosis
1.5 Differential Diagnoses
1.5.1 Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
1.5.2 Depression
1.5.3 Tics and Tourette’s Syndrome (TS)
1.5.4 Delusional Disorders (e.g., Schizophrenia)
1.5.5 Impulse Control Disorders
1.5.6 Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)
1.5.7 Hypochondriasis
1.5.8 Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
1.6 Comorbidities
1.7 Diagnostic Procedures and Documentation
1.7.1 Structured Diagnostic Interviews
1.7.2 Semi-Structured Symptom Interviews
1.7.3 Self-Report Inventories
1.7.4 Documenting Changes in Symptom Levels

2 Theories and Models

2.1 Neuropsychiatric Theories
2.1.1 Neurochemical Theories
2.1.2 Neuroanatomical Theories
2.2 Psychological Theories
2.2.1 Learning Theory
2.2.2 Cognitive Deficit Models
2.2.3 Contemporary Cognitive-Behavioral Models

3 Diagnosis and Treatment Indications

3.1 Form Versus Function
3.2 The Diagnostic Assessment
3.3 Identifying the Appropriate Treatment
3.3.1 Empirically Supported Treatments for OCD
3.4 Factors that Influence Treatment Decisions
3.4.1 Age
3.4.2 Gender
3.4.3 Race
3.4.4 Educational Level
3.4.5 Patient Preference
3.4.6 Social Support
3.4.7 Clinical Presentation
3.4.8 OCD Symptom Theme
3.4.9 Insight
3.4.10 Comorbidity
3.4.11 Treatment History
3.5 Presenting the Recommendation for CBT

4 Treatment

4.1 Methods of Treatment
4.1.1 Functional Assessment
4.1.2 Self-Monitoring
4.1.3 Psychoeducation
4.1.4 Using Cognitive Therapy Techniques
4.1.5 Planning for Exposure and Response Prevention
4.1.6 Implementing Exposure and Response Prevention
4.1.7 Ending Treatment
4.2 Mechanism of Action
4.3 Efficacy and Prognosis
4.4 Variations and Combinations of Methods
4.4.1 Variants of CBT Treatment Procedures
4.4.2 Combining Medication and CBT
4.5 Problems in Carrying out the Treatment
4.5.1 Negative Reactions to the CBT Model
4.5.2 Nonadherence
4.5.3 Arguments
4.5.4 Therapist’s Inclination to Challenge the Obsession
4.5.5 When Cognitive Interventions Become Rituals
4.5.6 Unbearable Anxiety Levels During Exposure
4.5.7 Absence of Anxiety During Exposure
4.5.8 Therapist Discomfort with Conducting Exposure Exercises

5 Case Vignettes

6 Further Reading

7 References

8 Appendix: Tools and Resources