Promoting an understanding of taboo content in POCD (sexual harm themed obsessive compulsive disorder)

This presentation will discuss special considerations for working with clients whose obsessional content centers on worries about being a pedophile (P-OCD). The negative reinforcement cycle of OCD will be reviewed with a special emphasis on the function of symptoms rather than the content of symptoms. A case example will be provided, including discussion of hierarchy building and completion of exposure with response prevention to address P-OCD symptoms.

Elyse Stewart, PhD (she/her) is a licensed clinical psychologist at the New England Center for OCD and Anxiety (NECOA). She received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from SUNY Binghamton where she focused her studies on factors that may affect treatment outcomes and accessibility for those with anxiety disorders and OCD. Elyse is interested in the dissemination of evidence-based treatments, particularly working to refine the optimal delivery of exposure-based practice. She is dedicated to training clinicians in this approach and currently teaches NECOA’s Exposure and Response Prevention Foundations courses. Additionally, Elyse maintains a leadership role in NECOA’s Intensive Outpatient Program where she contributes to training and supervising clinicians in the delivery of exposure therapy within that program.