PHP (day) Program

Exposure and Response Prevention AM Group for Fundamentals: This group educates patients about evidence-based treatment for OCD with succinct and clear psycho-education on anxiety, OCD, OCD treatment and symptom management. Patients learn through various teaching styles the basics of anxiety, OCD, the OCD cycle and ERP. PM Group for fundamentals titled: Treatment for You Group discussion, role-plays, and behavior therapy skills are put into practice focused on OCD and ERP. Afternoon fundamentals group practices application of concepts outlined weekly below both individually and in a group format. AM fundamentals focuses on education of each concept and PM group focuses on the concept in action for our patients. Weekly Module Schedule: Week 1: Relationship with Anxiety + the OCD Cycle Week 2: Obsessions and Compulsions Week 3: Mental Compulsions and Avoidance Week 4: Habituation, Inhibitory Learning and Distress Tolerance Week 5: Core Fears Week 6: ERP and ERP concepts (white knuckling, etc.) Week 7: ERP as a lifestyle, Greater Good Week 8: Relapse Prevention/Symptom Management

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

The ACT groups are broken up into a morning group that focuses on understanding the basic tenets of ACT (contact with the present moment, values, committed action, self as context, defusion, and acceptance), while the afternoon group focuses on putting these concepts into action and learning how to integrate them in our lives. The two primary goals of ACT group are: Patients learn and practice acceptance of unwanted private experiences which are out of personal control Patients identify their values and how to commit to living in a value-driven direction by being psychologically present Weekly Module Schedule: Week 1: Orientation to ACT Week 2: Choice Point Week 3: Values Week 4: Mindfulness Week 5: Defusion Week 6: Self-As-Context Week 7: Acceptance Week 8: Committed Action

Interpersonal Skills Group

Anxiety and OCD can interfere significantly with social functioning. This group focuses on strengthening skills for interpersonal effectiveness and relationship building. Through psychoeducation, games, role plays, and experiential exercises group members practice and experiment with skills to build confidence and competency. Topics include assertiveness, communication, giving feedback, vulnerability/openness, boundary setting, initiating friendships, and facilitating patient led family accommodation reduction plans. Weekly Module Schedule: Week 1: Emotional Expression Week 2: Assertiveness Week 3: Boundaries Week 4: Relationship Building Week 5: Vulnerability and Openness Week 6: Communication with Treatment Team Week 7: Accommodation Week 8: Communication

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

This group focuses on teaching and practicing techniques and coping strategies that can help patients cope with different emotions. Utilizing principles from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy, group members will be taught a variety of coping mechanisms for a wide range of uncomfortable emotions and situations. Patients will learn to understand and identify their emotions, skills to change unpleasant emotions, how to tolerate extreme emotions without acting on them, and how to cope in advance with challenges. Additional skills include validation and dialectics. The afternoon group, Skills for Life, includes active practice of the morning content. Weekly Module Schedule: Week 1: What Do Emotions Do for You Week 2: What Gets in Your Way Week 3: Mindfulness Week 4: Opposite Action, Coping Ahead Week 5: Taking Care of Your Body Week 6: Validation Week 7: Dialectics Week 8: Intro to Distress Tolerance Week 9: Distress Tolerance Skills Week 10: Radical Acceptance, Willingness, Willfulness

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

AM Group for Cognitive Behavior Therapy: This group focuses on providing clear psychoeducation, building a strong foundation and rationale for evidence-based treatments, and offers a space for patients to ask questions about ERP and other behavioral techniques, especially as they relate to anxiety and OCD. Patients broadly learn and review the basics of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), cognitive distortions, moon monitoring, goal setting, behavior activation, and cognitive restructuring as it relates to mood, anxiety, and treatment process. Additionally, this group provides patients an opportunity to participate and apply techniques during individual and group-based activities (e.g., group discussion, role-play, and worksheets) as they learn. Week 1: What is CBT Week 2: Problem Solving and SMART-goal Setting Week 3: TRAP Model and TRAC Model for Depression Week 4: Behavioral Activation Week 5: Core Beliefs and Schemas Week 6: Introduction to Cognitive Restructuring Week 7: Introduction to Behavioral Experiments Week 8: Self-Compassion PM Treatment Processing Group: This is an open discussion group where patients have the space to reflect on their treatment and experiences from the week, ask questions from peers and group leader, and offer and receive support or encouragement.  Some discussion topics include, but are not limited to, treatment progress, approaching difficult exposures, feelings of failure/success, stages of change, and general treatment questions. Patients are encouraged to share experiences with each other to challenge stigma around mental health issues while simultaneously fostering greater understanding of the treatment process, facilitating emotional processing, and increase motivation.

Life in Recovery

This is an open discussion group where we aim to meet patients where they are, spend time answering questions, having an open dialogue around treatment and any confusion they have. This is a time to reinforce various treatment concepts, and have patients apply treatment knowledge while addressing any current questions patients present with. The following descriptions below provide an outline for more structured groups and topics. Weekly Module Schedule: Week 1: OCD Overview Week 2: Clarification of Behavioral Terms Week 3: Acceptance Week 4: Identity Week 5: Sex, Intimacy, and OCD Week 6: Grief Week 7: Intrusive Thoughts Week 8: Scavenger Hunt

Values-Based Living

In this group patients discuss the benefits of living a life that is aligned with our values, doing what truly matters most to us, and showing up each day as the person we want to be. We will talk about the obstacles and difficulties that clients often face due to OCD or other mental disorders, and such disorders pull individuals away from what truly matters most, such as family, social life, careers, independence, peace of mind, and so much more. We will also discuss how to move more in the direction of what matters most while also doing what you can to not allow OCD, uncomfortable emotions, or intrusive thoughts dictate how you proceed in your life.

Face Your Fears Group

This group focuses on teaching and practicing fundamental and advanced concepts of exposure therapy for approaching feared stimuli. Utilizing principles and therapeutic skills from cognitive behavior therapy, group members are taught a variety of ways to approach exposure therapy in an effective manner. Patients learn to understand and identify their feared stimuli (treatment targets) and to structure specific therapeutic exposures to approach their fears in an effective way.  Patients work individually and in groups and then process the outcomes of the structured exposures to reflect on new learning and continued progress.