People can experience many difficulties with sleep throughout their lives. Some people are often told by their parents that even as small children they were never “good sleepers.” Some people experience issues with sleep following a stressful or traumatic event in their life. Sometimes issues with sleep just seem to come out of nowhere. However people … Read more
Comfort has its limits. One of the reasons it can be so difficult to approach someone who is suffering is that it can bring us face to face with our powerlessness to do anything about pain. We wish we could have control, make it all better, and relieve the pain of the people we care … Read more
CNN featured a nice article on a lesser known subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)–Scrupulosity. This involves religious-themed obsessions, such as fear of blaspheming, fear of going to hell, or a sense that you are inherently bad. Rates of OCD are no higher in more orthodox religious communities, but rates of scrupulosity are, which provides an … Read more
At Portland Psychotherapy, we are passionate about offering evidence-based treatment and promoting training in effective treatments to other professionals. I recently came across this opinion piece by a Yale graduate student recounting her struggles to find effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). I think this article offers both a good description of some of the … Read more
In previous posts, I’ve written about how cognitive behavioral treatment (specifically, CBT with exposure and response prevention) has been shown to be much more effective in treating obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) than medication. Nevertheless, many people with OCD are still interested in seeing if they can find a medication that will turn down the intensity … Read more
