Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) for OCD and BDD
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) can lead to high levels of impairment, disruption, and lower quality of life.
At Willow Anxiety and OCD, we offer an intensive outpatient program (IOP) that provides more intense and frequent services than traditional outpatient treatment but is less restrictive than an inpatient program.
​
An IOP consists of sessions 3 to 5 days a week, and IOP sessions are 3 hours a day with breaks (9-15 total hours weekly).
We offer only individual IOPs at this time.
​
What is an Intensive Outpatient Program for OCD and BDD?
For some clients, a higher level of care is required. In such cases, a primary treating clinician will meet with the client three times a week for 50-minute psychotherapy sessions.
Between 6 to 12 hours of additional sessions are provided by our behavioral specialists who accompany and support clients as they do exposure and response prevention (ERP) assignments as directed by the primary treating clinician. Up to 12 hours of additional sessions with a behavioral specialist may be scheduled per week.
Clients see movement at a much faster rate with an IOP compared to standard weekly programs.
We always start with a comprehensive intake where we go over history, background, and do a diagnostic evaluation to create a clear picture of what is going on.
After the intake is complete, we create an individually tailored treatment plan that fits the client's specific needs. The duration of the IOP and recommended number of sessions per week will be determined at this point.
When working with younger children and teens, the sessions are split between working with children/teens and parents.
How do we treat OCD and BDD?
We use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) as our main treatment modality and use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) informed interventions.
CBT/ERP is the gold standard for treating OCD and BDD. We work on gradually and gently exposing you to thoughts, situations, and impulses that make you anxious, and then we work on tools to help you refrain from ritualizing.
Our goal is to teach you to accept uncertainty. In the process, you are going to learn acceptance of having OCD/BDD, the anxiety that comes with it, and having the obsessions that you may believe are horrible.
You will learn to stop ritualizing and deal with the obsessions and the anxiety more effectively. This process will help you reclaim your life and live according to your goals and values!
You can read more about OCD and ERP here.