Compulsive Disorder – Techniques That Work… and Those That Don't

Compulsive disorder and its milder symptoms are equally treatable. Therapists and doctors have used several techniques through the years. Some have been shown in clinical studies to be effective, some have not. Following is a rundown of compulsive disorder techniques and how effective each has been proven to be for the patient.

1. Muscle relaxation. Therapy that centers solely on muscle relaxation hasn't proven to be effective against compulsive disorder and its primary symptom of rituals.

However, muscle relaxation techniques (e.g., calming breath, neck rolls, etc.) have been highly effective when use with the second technique, systematic desensitization.

2. Systematic desensitization. The goal of this technique is to make the patient non-reactive to the impulse that triggers the compulsive disorder. It has proven most effective in patients who have only recently acquired the symptoms of compulsive disorder. This technique is especially effective when paired with muscle relaxation.

However, for patients who have had compulsive disorder for quite some time, the additional element of habituation (i.e., increasing tolerance for the impulse that causes compulsive behavior) is needed as well.

3. Thought stopping. This involves stopping the impulse that causes compulsive behavior by, for instance, snapping a rubber band worn around the patient's wrist or yelling STOP (patient completes these strategies himself) when the impulse occurs.

It hasn't proven effective in stopping the impulse that leads to compulsive behavior. But it has indeed proven effective in dealing with compulsive disorder, reminding the patient to stop the ritual that would've ordinarily followed the impulse. This technique, therefore, shows a lot of promise in the area of response prevention therapy.

4. Modeling. As the patient watches, the therapist goes through an exposure exercise that involves the impulse that triggers the patient's compulsive behavior. For instance, the therapist handles items that a patient believes to be contaminated, but doesn't wash his hands.

So the patient sees that the impulse that triggers his/her compulsive hand washing ritual is unreasonable and unnecessary.

This treatment probably hasn't widely succeeded because, in the first place, patients with compulsive disorder already know that their behavior is irrational and may be even harmful.

As far back as the mid-1970s, studies have showed that adding modeling to therapy made no difference at all. However, there were also studies at the time that showed it to be helpful for some disorders maybe because it lessened their fear of exposure.

Also, some therapists say that they find this technique to be helpful for some patients who have compulsions related to hoarding.