Christian R Komor PsyD
OCD BUSTING BUS
While methods of treating OCD have emerged in recent years most areas of the United States are without trained providers. The OCD BUSTING BUS is a program which brings affordable Intensive Outpatient Treatment to patient regardless of geographic location! Similar to the mobile program developed by the armed forces for treating vertrins with PTSD, the OCD BUSTING BUS brings high-quality help to the sufferer. To date air transportation has been used to reach these patients, but expense and logistics make availability limited.
Through The OCD-Busting Bus Housecall we first gather detailed diagnostic information over the telephone or Internet and then arrange to travel to the home city of the patient. Sometimes, if the person with OCD is resistant to change those involved with them may wish to hold an “OCD Intervention”. In an OCD Intervention loved ones, friends and colleagues gather and, in a structured format, share their experience of the person’s OCD – hopefully convincing them of the need for change.
In any event, our first meeting(s) are targeted toward developing a specially-tailored treatment strategy. Using the recovery approach developed through our experience treating hundreds of OC patients since the mid-1990s, we then proceed to assist the patient in initiating a recovery program.
THE OCD-BUSTING BUS HOUSECALL developed by the OCD Recovery Centers of America generally lasts 3-7 days. The curriculum is tailored to the individual so varies widely, but may look something like this:
DAY 1: OCD 101 / Interviews and Data Collection (Family and Patient)
- Information, Education and Understanding Including OC Cycles
- Understanding Core Family of Origin Patterns Relative to Disorder
- Addressing personal and family patterns which conflict with recovery (including reassurance)
- Initiating or Refining Psychoactive and, or Phytomedicinal Medication Support
- Developing Lifestyle Management and Self-Care Skills (Including HRVT, ATT, diet, exercise)
DAY 2: Overview of Strategy and Treatment (Patient)
- The Nature of Life and Death
- What fell into the OCD “quicksand”
- Addressing OCD-onset trauma
- Mapping the OCD
DAY 3: ERP Work / Recovery Buddy Training (Patient and Recovery Buddy)
- Developing Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) behavior therapy exercises to counter the OCD
- Training the “Recovery Buddy”
- Multisensory Massed Exposure
DAY 4: ERP Work (Patient and Recovery Buddy)
- Healthy being and spontaneity
- Short term goals
- Long term goals
- Developing Relapse Prevention Plan Including Emergency Plan and Ongoing Resource/Support Utilization
Having and working on OCD is very anxiety provoking. Most people with significant OCD cannot tolerate more than a few hours of ERP work. During the HOUSECALL we almost always meet in 2-3 hour time blocks similar to this:
09:00am – 12:00am SESSION
12:00pm – 02:00pm HOMEWORK/BREAK*
02:00pm – 05:00pm SESSION
05:00pm – 09:00am HOMEWORK/BREAK*
* During breaks patients should be resting, relaxing their nervous system, doing homework exercises (if suggested). (In terms of achieving optimal nervous system balance we recommend obtaining the easy-to-use “EM Wave” biofeedback device from www.heartmath.com and learning to use it prior to the THE OCD-BUSTING BUS.) Meanwhile, your doctor is organizing information gained during you time together and developing strategies and recommendations for the next session.
Our aim in the THE OCD-BUSTING BUS HOUSECALL program is to assist the person with OCD in creating rapid change which will put them on an aggressive path back out of the wilderness of obsessions and compulsions and restore life serenity and optimal functioning as rapidly as possible. Working in the home and local environment is extremely beneficial to this process of Exposure and Response Prevention.
On any particular day of the THE OCD-BUSTING BUS HOUSECALL the visiting doctor may be meeting with the patient, conferencing with family, employers, friends and other treating professionals, conducting psychological testing, developing written handouts and aftercare materials, etc. Not all time is spent in consultation with the patient. Total patient contact time averages 6 hours per day. Roughly the first half of the THE OCD-BUSTING BUS HOUSECALLwill be spent on information gathering and problem formulation and the second half on presentation and discussion of the implementation of strategies for recovery.
At the conclusion of the THE OCD-BUSTING BUS HOUSECALL detailed follow-up instructions for continuing the recovery process will be provided in the form of an Aftercare Plan. Telephone and e-mail consultations are then scheduled as part of the follow-up programming.
While it is not possible to complete a recovery process which eliminates all OCD in the time available during the average The OCD-Busting Bus, we do expect to: (1) lay powerful and comprehensive groundwork for ongoing self-treatment and (2) make significant initial headway so that the process of recovery is set in motion and need only be continued to achieve ultimate success. With the assistance of loved ones, local mental health support and other caregivers the patient need only continue with the process which has been initiated during the The OCD-Busting Bus to achieve success and eventual recovery. While the Housecall cannot guarantee results, prior patients have tended to make good progress in this format.