While EMDR is not typically the first line of treatment for OCD, it can be used to treat OCD effectively. EMDR can target the distressing emotions, thoughts, and memories associated with specific obsessions and compulsions with the goal of decreasing their intensity. So far, research suggests that combining ERP and EMDR has more favorable outcomes than ERP alone.5
What is the best therapy for OCD?
Exposure And Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) – Do live video sessions with a therapist specialized in ERP, the gold standard treatment for OCD. Treatment from NOCD is covered by many insurance plans. Start With A Free 15 Minute Call
What Is EMDR?
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR) is a therapy centered around treating trauma, where a person focuses on a memory or emotion, while at the same time doing some form of bilateral stimulation, usually eye movements. EMDR uses adaptive information processing (AIP), which posits that people have a natural information processing system wired for growth and healing.1
EMDR aims to reduce negative emotions, feelings, and sensations associated with memories or previous experiences. When someone’s memory networks begin to store these more adaptively, they will become less reactive to those memories, leading to fewer symptoms in their daily life. Part of the EMDR process also involves learning new coping skills and relaxation exercises to help people better manage symptoms that linger.1
What Is OCD?
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) consists of persistent, unwanted, and distressing thoughts or behaviors which often take up significant time and energy, causing considerable anxiety and interfering with daily functioning. People with OCD may engage in repetitive actions or mental rituals to try to alleviate their distress or prevent feared outcomes.
OCD affects 1-2% of the population, and females are more often diagnosed than males in adulthood.3 While OCD is closely related to anxiety, it is categorized separately.3 OCD is highly genetic, with 2-10x increased risk if a first-degree relative has also been diagnosed with it. Rarely, OCD symptoms can be caused after a traumatic event or as an autoimmune response to an infection.3
OCD is characterized by obsessions and compulsions:
- Obsessions: Obsessions refer to persistent and intrusive thoughts, urges, or images that cause significant distress and anxiety. These obsessions are unwanted and difficult to control.
- Compulsions: Compulsions are behaviors or mental rituals aimed at reducing distress or preventing feared outcomes of the obsessions.
Treatment for OCD
NOCD: Online OCD Treatment Covered by Insurance – Regain your life from OCD. Do live video sessions with a licensed therapist specialized in treating OCD. Treatment from NOCD is covered by most major insurance plans. Learn how you can use your insurance benefits. Visit NOCD
Talkiatry: Is OCD Medication Right for You? Speak with a Doctor – Talkiatry can match you with a psychiatrist who takes your insurance and is accepting new patients. They’re in-network with major insurers and offer medication management with supportive therapy. Free Assessment
Does EMDR for OCD Work?
All the current evidence indicates that EMDR is helpful in treating OCD. One randomized controlled trial found a significant reduction in OCD symptoms. Another, which compared EMDR for exposure and response prevention (ERP) for treating OCD, found that EMDR can help with OCD, at least as well as ERP or commonly prescribed OCD medications.4
One element of EMDR that is particularly relevant to how EMDR works for OCD is exposure. Part of the reason exposure-based therapies like ERP work so well for treating OCD is due to inhibitory learning, wherein a person learns that both triggers and the emotional response they fear are safe and can be tolerated. EMDR can be an alternative means to accomplish inhibitory learning, as it safely exposes a person to their triggers.2
Why Is EMDR Effective for OCD?
A main feature of EMDR treatment is integrating distressing memories so that they are more emotionally tolerable. EMDR may make it easier for people with OCD to withstand the uneasy feelings generated by either refraining from doing a compulsion or of feeling out of control with their obsessive thoughts.
One explanation for the development of OCD is that distressing life events get stuck, much like trauma, and present as obsessions. Thus, the obsession or the following compulsion is likely associated with a negative neural network, which has feelings and thoughts connected to it.4 EMDR can target the most distressing aspects of OCD – triggers, past trauma, or possible future situations that may prompt obsessions or compulsions.
EMDR Protocol for OCD Treatment
There are a variety of protocol adaptations a therapist may choose from when doing EMDR for OCD. They may begin a client’s treatment with EMDR to reduce emotional distress, or they may choose to do a course of ERP before beginning EMDR. The protocol adaptations a therapist chooses will also depend on their client’s particular symptoms.5
The protocols used will either target the obsession itself or a traumatic event that is connected to a person’s OCD symptoms. The only clinical trial that has published its methodology at this point used the EMDR Phobia Protocol, wherein current triggers (obsessions and compulsions) were the first targets.4
EMDR for Disorders That Co-Occur With OCD
While using EMDR to treat trauma has been the most studied, research so far suggests that EMDR can also be useful in treating a variety of disorders. EMDR primarily targets the emotions and memories underlying disorders, which can be applied to anxiety or depression, which are often comorbid with OCD.1,3
There have been no studies specifically looking at EMDR for generalized anxiety disorder, but studies carried out on specific phobias and panic disorder show positive outcomes when incorporating EMDR into treatment.7 EMDR may be used as an adjunct to standard treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), but it is also effective for treating co-occurring disorders when used alone.6
What is the best therapy for OCD?
Exposure And Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) – Do live video sessions with a therapist specialized in ERP, the gold standard treatment for OCD. Treatment from NOCD is covered by many insurance plans. Start With A Free 15 Minute Call
Other Treatment Options for OCD
OCD treatment most often begins with ERP and is sometimes combined with a medication regimen. Treating OCD involves a comprehensive assessment such as a Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) to determine which OCD symptoms are present and how much they impact a person’s daily life in order to choose and begin the best treatment for their unique case.
Other treatment options for OCD include:
- Exposure response therapy (ERP): Exposure and response prevention for OCD is the gold standard treatment and involves intentionally exposing a person to their obsessions while inhibiting their compulsive response. Exposures may be imaginal, real life, or interoceptive, meaning focused on their internal sensations.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT for OCD uses a variety of therapeutic techniques to focus on interrupting the thought, feeling, and behavior patterns that are characteristic of OCD.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT emphasizes connecting to and experiencing fully the present moment regardless of how uncomfortable it is. ACT posits that if a person can accept and welcome the intolerable-seeming feelings, the need to do compulsions will decrease.
- Habit Reversal Training (HRT): HRT introduces a competing response for a compulsion, thus replacing a dysfunctional behavior with a more helpful one.
- Medications: Medications for OCD, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants, are often employed when therapy alone has not been very helpful or if symptoms are too severe to experience benefit from therapy without pharmacotherapy.
How to Find an EMDR Therapist for OCD
Many therapists are trained in treating OCD, and many are trained in EMDR, but treating OCD with EMDR is less common. EMDR therapy is available online and can be as effectively delivered as in-person, so individuals seeking EMDR therapy for OCD are not as limited to their local area.8 A great place to search for an EMDR therapist is an online therapist directory or online therapy platform built to help find the right therapist for every individual.
In My Experience
Additional Resources
To help our readers take the next step in their mental health journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy is compensated for marketing by the companies included below.
OCD Therapy
NOCD: Effective, Affordable, & Convenient OCD Therapy Do live, face-to-face video sessions with a therapist who specializes in treating OCD and get 24/7 support between sessions. NOCD is covered by many insurance plans and is available nationwide. Visit NOCD
Treatment from an Online Psychiatrist
Talkiatry OCD is treatable. Talkiatry specializes in OCD and provides personalized care with medication and additional support. Get started with a short assessment.
OCD Community - Free to Join!
Join others who are overcoming OCD. Participate anonymously. Find support, connect, and overcome challenges with us. The community is managed by NOCD. Join The Community
OCD Newsletter
A free newsletter from Choosing Therapy for those impacted by OCD. Get helpful tips and the latest information. Sign-Up
What to know when finding a therapist for OCD
With so much information out there regarding providers and treatment options for obsessive compulsive disorder, it can be hard to know exactly where to start—especially when you have to consider everything from the type of provider to the different treatment methods, as well as how you’ll fit it into your busy schedule.
Can OCD make it hard to make decisions?
From choosing what to wear in the morning to picking what to eat for dinner, decision-making is a part of everyone’s daily routine. But for millions of people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), making any choice can feel like a daunting, sometimes impossible task.