ACT Therapy

[MomWithOCDSon]

Has anyone had any experience with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for addressing OCD? Our DS14 is doing quite well with respect to managing his OCD, but the scrupulosity has been very hard to get at in conventional methods, despite some pretty intensive ERP therapy over the last 18 months. So we've had a therapist suggest that he try ACT therapy.

 

Wondering if anyone here has tried it, or had any exposure to it? At this point, we sort of figure we've got little to lose (a few $$, but we've been paying that for ERP therapy that's not really managing to get at these scrupulosity thoughts for a while now), so it's worth a try. Would love to get some feedback, though.

 

Thanks!

[Ladymavs]

My son is 15, almost 16, and we did several sessions with our therapist who has extensive experience with OCD. We spent several sessions going though the basis of OCD and leading up to ERP...however, my son was not highly successful in ERP and also had a flare up shortly after and we halted. I think his lack of maturity and the nature of the OCD (religious scrupulosity) made it even more difficult. I want to start back, but am very interested in using the ACT approach. While I know ERP is the gold standard, I would rather him get some help from ACT than nothing. Have you had any feedback or experience with ACT?

[MomWithOCDSon]

Ladymavs --

 

Since that post, our DS (14 years old at that time) DID undertake ACT. First weekly, then bi-weekly, for a couple of years.

 

I would say that it was by far the most helpful with the obsessive thoughts. So much so that, by the time he'd completed those sessions, he was pretty much done with therapy for the time being and has since finished high school, gone away to college, and handled himself (and his thinking quite well).

 

I think ACT is ideal for an intelligent teenager who tends to be excessively analytical and thus can find the "hole" in most cases friends and family can make against his perseverative thinking or concerns.

 

Good luck to you!

[Ladymavs]

Thanks for the feedback. As I said, I know that ERP is considered gold standard...but he attempted that and it was an epic fail for us at the time. From my research, it looks like ACT can often be as effective and the dropout rate is much lower than ERP. I think that he may be more apt to trying this approach for the time being. Sounds like it was highly effective for your son. Glad that he is doing well.