Therapies for OCDTherapies for OCD
All In The Mind
It's unsettling to leave the house and think—did I turn the stove off, or leave the door unlocked? Now recent research shows that family can play a critical role in treatment and recovery.
29:09•22 May 2016
Therapies for OCD: How Families and Exposure Help Break the Cycle
Episode Overview
- OCD involves intrusive, distressing thoughts and repetitive behaviours that aim to reduce anxiety but end up strengthening the cycle.
- Family members often accommodate rituals and reassurance seeking, which feels supportive but actually maintains OCD symptoms.
- Exposure and response prevention gradually confronts feared situations while blocking usual rituals, helping prove that feared outcomes do not occur.
- Recovery is described as gaining control rather than a complete cure, with ongoing need to apply therapy principles to new thoughts.
- Early attention to behaviours that seem to control a child, rather than being simple preferences, can prompt timely professional advice.
“There is life after OCD.”
Curious about how others manage obsessive thoughts that seem impossible to shake? This episode of *All In The Mind* focuses on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and how therapy and family support can change the course of someone’s life. You’ll hear from Julie Leach, who describes growing up with terrifying beliefs that a simple mistake could cause a family member to die.
Her rituals ranged from washing her hands in endless loops to abandoning books because she couldn’t read a sentence “perfectly”. At her worst, her husband was checking doors multiple times a night and even showering and dressing her because OCD made everyday tasks feel impossible. Julie’s turning point came when he said, “You need to see the doctor, because I can’t live like this anymore,” and later found an article that finally named what she was facing.
Psychologist and clinical researcher Rocco Crino explains OCD as intrusive, unwanted thoughts that bring intense anxiety, followed by compulsive behaviours meant to neutralise that fear. He outlines exposure and response prevention, a form of cognitive behaviour therapy where people are gradually exposed to their feared situations and stop performing their usual rituals. As he puts it, this approach helps prove "there is in fact nothing to fear, nothing bad happens." Family involvement is a key theme.
Julie’s story shows how partners can unintentionally feed OCD through constant reassurance. Mary, speaking about her adult daughter’s fears of rust, germs and contamination, admits she once helped her avoid triggers before learning that this accommodation kept the disorder going. With guidance, Mary now supports treatment by resisting rituals and backing exposure tasks, even when it leads to short-term distress.
The episode doesn’t promise easy cures, but it shares hard-won progress, practical strategies and the message Julie carries forward: "There is life after OCD." If intrusive thoughts are running the show for you or someone you care about, could these stories be the nudge to seek the right kind of help?
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