Mini Workshop 18 - Overcoming OCD: Creative Strategies to Engage Youth in Exposure and Ritual Prevention Treatment

Saturday, November 16, 2024

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM EST

Location: Grand Ballroom B, Level 5, Downtown Marriott

Earn 1.5 Credit

Keywords: Exposure, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), Treatment
Level of Familiarity: Basic to Moderate
Recommended Readings: Franklin, M.E., Freeman, J.B., & March, J.S. (2019). Treating OCD in Children and Adolescents: A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach. Guilford., Puliafico, A.C., & Robin, J.A. (2017). The OCD Workbook for Kids. New Harbinger., Peterman, J. S., Read, K. L., Wei, C., & Kendall, P. C. (2015). The art of exposure: Putting science into practice. Cognitive and behavioral practice, 22(3), 379-392., Benito, K. G., Machan, J., Freeman, J. B., Garcia, A. M., Walther, M., Frank, H., Wellen, B., Stewart, E., Edmunds, J., Sapyta, J., & Franklin, M. E. (2021). Therapist behavior during exposure tasks predicts habituation and clinical outcome in three randomized controlled trials for pediatric OCD. Behavior therapy, 52(3), 523-538. doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2020.07.004, Kircanski, K., & Peris, T. S. (2015). Exposure and response prevention process predicts treatment outcome in youth with OCD. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 543-552. doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9917-2

Presenter(s)

Anthony Puliafico, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry)
Columbia University Medical Center
Tarrytown, New York, United States
Joanna A. Robin, Ph.D.

Director and Founder
Westchester Anxiety Treatment Psychological Services, PC
White Plains, New York, United States

With a lifetime prevalence of over 2% (Ruscio et al., 2010), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common mental health concern among youth and is considered one of the top ten most disabling health conditions by the World Health Organization. OCD has a typical onset in childhood and adolescence, and youth diagnosed with OCD often experience impaired school, social and family functioning (Piacentini et al., 2003; Valderhaug & Ivarsson, 2005). Exposure and Ritual Prevention (EX/RP) is considered an effective, front-line treatment for pediatric OCD (Freeman et al, 2018). However, youth often find EX/RP challenging or display low willingness to engage in treatment and attrition rates for EX/RP in youth range from 15-20% (Franklin et al., 2015). This workshop will introduce and discuss approaches to engage children and adolescents in EX/RP treatment with the goal of building willingness and treatment compliance. Using videos and live role-play demonstrations, the presenters will demonstrate strategies to “bring to life” the various components of EX/RP, including psychoeducation, flexible responses to obsessions, exposure planning and execution, and ritual prevention. The presenters will also provide examples of activity-based exposure ideas for common OCD presentations in youth. Finally, the presenters will review and troubleshoot challenges that often arise when providing EX/RP to youth.

Outline:
8:30-8:40 Rationale for Building Engagement in EX/RP with Youth
8:40-9:00 Inventive Approaches to Teaching OCD Psychoeducation and Flexible Responses to Obsessions
9:15-9:40 Making Exposure and Ritual Prevention Engaging for Youth
9:40-9:50 Incorporating Caregivers into Treatment
9:50-10:00 Troubleshooting/Q&A

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:

List the components of Exposure and Ritual Prevention (EX/RP) treatment for OCD in youth.
Describe two strategies for providing psychoeducation to youth with OCD.
Outline an approach for creatively guiding a youth in responding flexibly to obsessive thoughts.
Develop an activity-based exposure that is relevant to a child's OCD concerns.
Effectively incorporate caregivers into a youth's EX/RP treatment plan.
Long-term Goal: Apply creative strategies to EX/RP treatment for OCD in youth.
Long-term Goal: Apply a wider range of exposure-based activities when treating OCD in youth.