Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) remains one of the most common mental health disorders and can result in significant impairment. Accessing effective CBT can be life changing for individuals with OCD. Key principles of CBT are fundamental in providing successful treatment including collaboration, individualised formulation, and active behavioural work.
This workshop will provide a cognitive behavioural framework for understanding and conceptualising OCD based on the Salkovskis model (Salkovskis, 1985, 1989). You may also be interested in our workshop which extends your skills and considers complexity: CBT for OCD: Advanced skills running on the 16th January 2026.
Interactive exercises and experiential learning will be used in the workshop.
Learning outcomes from the workshop:
- The evidence base for CBT for OCD
- Assessment and diagnosis of OCD
- Understanding a range of OCD presentations
- Identifying and formulating OCD using the vicious flower CBT model
- Identifying key beliefs in OCD including responsibility appraisals
- Identifying safety seeking behaviours, attentional processes, reasoning biases and avoidance that maintain OCD beliefs
- Increasing skill in devising and carrying out effective behavioural experiments, and other methods of cognitive change
- Use of metaphor
Clinical skills covered will include:
- ‘Normalising’ – how to effectively provide information, examples and metaphors that help people with OCD to start to see their intrusive thoughts, images, urges and doubts as part of ‘normal’ thinking
- Working on a shared understanding – how to collaboratively draw up a vicious flower formulation including a clear threat appraisal and maintenance factors including safety-seeking behaviours, attentional processes and emotion.
- Devising theory A theory B to facilitate approaching change.
- Cognitive change methods including use of continua, responsibility pie charts, surveys and metaphors.
- Planning and carrying out effective behavioural experiments that target belief change.
- How to work on issues in treatment such as multiple forms of OCD, difficulties engaging in active work, persistence of anxiety, long term / chronic OCD
- Planning a successful end to a course of treatment and relapse prevention.
This workshop will be presented by Victoria Bream and/or Paul Salkovskis.
References:
Cabedo, E., Carrió, C., & Belloch, A. (2018). Stability of treatment gains 10 years after cognitive behavioral therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A study in routine clinical practice. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 11(1), 44-57.
Bream, V., Challacombe, F., Palmer, A., & Salkovskis, P. (2017). Cognitive behaviour therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Oxford University Press.
Salkovskis, P. M. (1985). Obsessional-compulsive problems: A cognitive-behavioural analysis. Behaviour research and therapy, 23(5), 571-583.
Salkovskis, P. M. (1999). Understanding and treating obsessive—compulsive disorder. Behaviour research and therapy, 37, S29-S52.
Sookman, D., Phillips, K. A., Anholt, G. E., Bhar, S., Bream, V., Challacombe, F. L., … & Veale, D. (2021). Knowledge and competency standards for specialized cognitive behavior therapy for adult obsessive-compulsive disorder: phase two series by the International Accreditation Task Force of The Canadian Institute for Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (CIOCD, www. ciocd. ca). Psychiatry Research, 113752.
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