Let’s set the record straight: NOCD Therapy was built to help people with OCD for life. Sometimes, NOCD Therapy is described as a 9-week program, which doesn’t match the true nature of our service. In reality, we’re committed to getting people the right care, at the right time, and in the right setting to treat the whole person.
When a member first begins treatment at NOCD, our primary goal is to help them achieve a clinically significant reduction in the severity of OCD and OCD-related disorders. Once our members see these ideal outcomes, we then actually offer additional sessions to help them sustain these results and to work on other areas of their life, so they maintain their results for life and prevent relapse.
Further, since members only have a few hours in therapy each week, and spend the rest of the time managing OCD on their own, we use our platform’s peer community and self-help functionality to support members when they aren’t in sessions with their NOCD Therapist.
Here’s an explanation of what NOCD Therapy entails:
First, we offer you a thorough assessment to better understand your clinical diagnoses, and to build you a personalized treatment plan.
Each person has a unique set of needs, which makes it imperative for our therapists to build customized treatment plans for every member. Sometimes, treatment plans are similar to a specific protocol that was proved to be effective by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center. Yet, in most situations, the plan is derived from the NOCD therapist with the guidance of our clinical leadership team, based on the member’s assessment.
With all treatment plans, expect to see 60, 45, and/or 30-minute sessions.
Second, we offer you education about OCD, the opportunity to create a fear hierarchy, and live Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy sessions inside the NOCD platform through face-to-face video sessions.
Your NOCD therapist will provide treatment and pivot accordingly based on your individual needs. Each session is conducted over a HIPAA-compliant Zoom video therapy call. At the time of your session, you’ll need to log into the NOCD platform to retrieve your therapist’s session link, either on your phone or over the web, and sign in to get started.
Third, to ensure that you never have to feel the wrath of OCD alone, every NOCD member can access the NOCD Therapy platform between sessions.
On the NOCD platform, you can:
- Message your therapist when you have questions, concerns, or need additional support
- Connect with members who understand you in our peer communities
- Reach out to your Personal Peer Advisor (a member of the NOCD team who you’ll be matched with to help you navigate your treatment experience – they also have experienced OCD and received ERP treatment at NOCD Therapy)
- Attend educational webinars that answer your questions about OCD and living with OCD (our Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Patrick B. McGrath, hosts one every Wednesday at 7pm CT)
- Participate in virtual support groups led by NOCD therapists
- Access response-prevention guidance when you have a sudden OCD episode, and
- Do ERP homework exercises assigned by your therapist more easily using our in-app tools, to help you get better
When you use the NOCD platform as part of your treatment journey, your therapist will also receive real-time data reports to better understand your needs moving forward.
Next, to mark progress, NOCD Therapists will offer you an assessment every few weeks to understand how you’re doing.
Once your scores indicate that you have made major strides, your therapist will offer additional 60-, 45-, or 30-minute sessions with you to help you navigate other elements of life, if any, in order to help you maintain progress and prevent relapse.
Finally, one of our most recent goals is to ensure that people know that NOCD Therapy offers additional help once strong clinical outcomes are achieved.
Although members reach a point where they have gotten significantly better, many have told us they’d like to continue working with their therapist for ongoing support. This phase was formerly known as “Stay Better” and encouraged members to do 30-minute sessions on occasion, but going forward, we’d like to offer the flexibility to do 30-, 45-, or 60-minute sessions.
This means you can continue to work with your therapist at any time or pace that’s best for you. Our aim is to be as flexible as possible to tailor your treatment to your needs so you don’t feel bound to a certain number of sessions or a particular session length.
If you’d like to learn more about NOCD Therapy or get back into the swing of treatment, please don’t hesitate to book a 15-minute call with our care team, or reach out directly to your therapist or personal peer advisor.
