Why You’ll Love this Course:
“Pure O” OCD unfortunately hides in plain sight; you’ve likely encountered patients with this presentation before, though you may have believed you were working with generalized anxiety disorder, or processing or challenging typical cognitive distortions. This course will teach you how to unmask this disorder, and treat it using evidence-based techniques that really work.
Course Description:
Most clinicians are familiar with the clinical stereotypes of OCD: a patient with significant overt compulsions (e.g. hand washing) that consumes hours during the day, negatively impacting functioning; a patient who prefers things extremely orderly and neat, and becomes significantly dysregulated when objects are out of place; a patient who needs events or experiences to occur a specific number of times or in odd or even multiples. These clinical presentations are not inaccurate. They are, however, limited. Given the clinical bias to identify OCD as it presents above, many patients struggling with what is colloquially known as “Pure O” OCD (i.e. obsessions are present without significant overt compulsions, and instead, “covert” compulsions or “mental checking” behaviors predominate) may be misdiagnosed. As a result, these patients may not receive the treatment they need, or worse, receive a treatment that maintains and exacerbates their symptoms. This course will provide practical instruction to clinicians seeking training in how to accurately identify and diagnose “Pure O” OCD subtypes, as well as treat “Pure O” OCD using exposure and response prevention adapted specifically to include targeting “Pure O” symptoms.
Who is this for:
Clinicians who have some previous knowledge and/or training in cognitive behavioral therapies, with some general knowledge of the principles of exposure. However, participants do not need to be experts in CBT, behaviorism, or OCD to benefit from this course.
Instructional Level:
Intermediate
Recommended Course Prerequisites:
None
Included:
Handouts: “How Does My Anxiety Show Up?”, “Blank Symptom Tracking Sheet”, “Symptom Tracking Example”
Skills demonstration of visual psychoeducation of OCD symptoms and exposure
“Pure O” exposure role play
Educational Objectives:
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
Distinguish between overt and covert compulsions, and identify at least five common compulsions in each category.
Identify at least four tools to adapt Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to assess and treat “Pure O” symptoms.
Identify four common “Pure O” subtypes and at least five skills to improve their ability to distinguish between “Pure O” symptoms and common therapeutic content.
Common Clinical FAQs Answered:
Nikki Rubin, Psy.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Co-founder
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Nikki Rubin, Psy.D. is a co-founder and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MindScience Collective. She is a licensed clinical psychologist (CA PSY30047, NY 019595) who specializes in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and third-wave cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT). She has particular expertise in the treatment of OCD and anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, ADHD, perfectionism, and grief and loss.
Dr. Rubin is the owner of Nikki Rubin, Psy.D., A Psychological Corporation, providing evidence-based treatments for adults, along with supervision, consultation, and private practice coaching for clinicians. She is passionate about mentorship for mental health clinicians, and thus serves as an Associate Clinical Professor at UCLA, training doctoral students in ACT. She is also the creator of The Complete Private Practice Toolkit, an educational course designed to help clinicians start or enhance their private practices.
In addition to her clinical and academic work, Dr. Rubin serves as a Clinical Advisor at Psych Hub, where she lends her expertise to advancing the company’s mission of expanding access to evidence-based behavioral health education, resources, and pathways to care. Lastly, along with MindScience Collective co-founder Peter Economou, Ph.D., she co-hosts When East Meets West, a podcast exploring the intersection of eastern spiritual practices and western behavioral science, further reflecting her commitment to innovative and integrative approaches to mental health care.
Disclosure:
Dr. Rubin is a co-founder of MindScience Collective and will receive financial benefit from all course sales. Danielle Keenan-Miller, Ph.D. is also a co-founder of MindScience Collective and an instructor on this platform. Dr. Keenan-Miller is a role play participant in this course.