Participants will gain familiarity with the CBT models of OCD and Health Anxiety and will learn to become more confident applying a Cognitive Behavioural framework & CBT interventions to these issues.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Health Anxiety Disorder (formerly known as hypochondria) are both in the spotlight at present due to the nature of the Coronavirus threat. The link is not just the level of the frequent handwashing that we are advised to do – that is only a relatively superficial type of connection, and mainly to certain subtypes of OCD. 

People with OCD are fearful of a variety of stimuli, environments, ideas etc that they associate with threat and danger. The danger themes that we find include health/contamination, but also security (e.g. checking that doors are locked), or fear that they could behave in a violent or sexually inappropriate way. Sufferers experience persistent intrusive thoughts (which they try to suppress) about these themes, as well as repetitive compulsive behaviours or mental actions aimed at reducing anxiety and preventing feared outcomes.

Those with Health Anxiety problems largely confine their worries to the domain of illness, constantly monitoring their bodily surface and sensations for possible symptoms, which they then catastrophise based on their anxiety rather than on appropriate evidence.

Who is this course for?  

This course is suitable for counsellors and psychotherapists, including those in training, who are interested in understanding more about how to work with these two specialised disorders – OCD and Health Anxiety. This course would also be suitable for those working in the allied health professions, such as GPs, nurses, social workers, who encounter these disorders in their workplace.

What are the benefits of doing this course? 

Participants will not only gain a unique understanding of how people present with both OCD and health anxiety, they will also acquire the tools necessary to work effectively in reducing the symptoms of these disorders which interrupt healthy functioning.

What will you learn?

People with OCD are fearful of a variety of stimuli, environments, ideas etc that they associate with threat and danger. The danger themes that we find include health/contamination, but also security (e.g. checking that doors are locked), or fear that they could behave in a violent or sexually inappropriate way. Sufferers experience persistent intrusive thoughts (which they try to suppress) about these themes, as well as repetitive compulsive behaviours or mental actions aimed at reducing anxiety and preventing feared outcomes.

Those with Health Anxiety problems largely confine their worries to the domain of illness, constantly monitoring their bodily surface and sensations for possible symptoms, which they then catastrophise based on their anxiety rather than on appropriate evidence.

Participants will learn how to apply CBT techniques to the above presentations.