K.D. Holmes Blog

Posts about:

ERP

KDH Counseling and OCD and ERP

Can ERP Help My OCD?

Many of my clients ask what ERP stands for?  Exposure and Response Prevention sounds so formal and technical.  Simply put, it is a process that creates ORDER out of mental CHAOS. It works by systematically facing your obsessions while abstaining from your compulsions. ERP is helpful when combined with lots of other skills.

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KD Holmes, MS, LPC | Anxiety | Overachieving | OCD

What do I Struggle With?

Sometimes in my office people are curious about me. Some ask what do I struggle with? There is an assumption that therapists do not struggle because of what they know. Knowing and doing are two different types of learning. I had an anxiety disorder for most of my life. I suffered from depression and anxiety when I was a child and young adult.  

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KD Holmes, MS, LPC on Intrusive thoughts and ERP

What is Intrusive Thinking?

Have you ever had a thought that just keeps popping up in your head? These kinds of thoughts can be images, phrases, even feelings that intrude upon an otherwise perfect moment. These intrusions are not hidden desires or even thoughts the sufferer wants to think. They just pop on in your head and terrify you. In Obsessive Compulsive Disorder they get stuck, and play on repeat in your mind. Because once isn't terrifying enough, let's play that thought again and again, and compulsively check if it is still there.

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KD Holmes, MS, LPC and OCD and ERP

The Skinny on Treating OCD

I began working with individuals who have OCD about 10 to 12 years ago. I was taught about OCD in my graduate program, but did not have an accurate understanding of its symptoms and treatment at that time because more specific training and education is required. When someone came to me with OCD symptoms and needed treatment, I was stumped, and anything that baffles me sparks my curiosity. 

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