Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) stands as the most effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder, offering a clear path to freedom through systematic, evidence-based techniques. For Draper, Utah residents seeking to understand this gold standard treatment, our virtual intensive outpatient program delivers specialized ERP therapy from home. Understanding how ERP works helps you approach treatment with confidence and realistic expectations.
Our virtual program makes expert ERP therapy accessible to Draper residents, providing proven treatment without requiring travel to distant specialists.
How ERP Works
Exposure and Response Prevention targets the core mechanism that keeps OCD alive. Every time you avoid a trigger or perform a compulsion, you reinforce the brain’s false belief that obsessions represent real danger. ERP systematically reverses this pattern through deliberate practice.
The treatment combines two essential components. Exposure means deliberately facing thoughts, situations, or sensations that trigger OCD anxiety. Response prevention means resisting compulsive behaviors during and after exposures. Together, they teach the brain new, healthier responses to triggers.
Why Experience Matters
ERP is fundamentally experiential. While intellectual understanding helps, lasting change comes from repeatedly experiencing that anxiety decreases without compulsions and feared outcomes do not materialize. This direct experience rewrites the brain’s automatic responses.
The Treatment Process
Treatment begins with comprehensive assessment of your OCD symptoms, including specific obsessions, compulsions, triggers, and avoidance patterns. This information guides your individualized treatment plan.
Together with your clinician, you create an exposure hierarchy ranking feared situations from least to most anxiety-provoking. Treatment typically begins with less challenging exposures and progressively works toward more difficult ones, building confidence and skills throughout.
What Exposures Look Like
During exposure practice, you deliberately face items on your hierarchy while resisting compulsions. Your clinician provides guidance and support, helping you learn from each experience. Exposures are repeated until they no longer provoke significant anxiety, then you progress to more challenging situations.
Virtual ERP in Draper, Utah
Our virtual intensive outpatient program serves Draper, Utah residents through secure video technology. Research confirms that virtual ERP produces identical outcomes to in-person treatment, with clients achieving a 64% average symptom reduction.
The virtual format allows exposure practice in your actual environment, where many OCD triggers naturally occur. This enhances real-world applicability of treatment gains.
Program Format
Our program meets three hours daily, Monday through Friday, with adult sessions from 12 pm to 3 pm. The 16-week program provides time to work through your exposure hierarchy and develop lasting skills. The 8:1 client-to-staff ratio ensures personalized guidance.
Why ERP Succeeds
ERP works because it directly targets what keeps OCD going. Compulsions provide temporary relief but strengthen the obsession-compulsion cycle. By facing fears without rituals, you teach your brain a fundamentally new response and weaken OCD’s grip.
Our 79% recovery rate and 92% client satisfaction demonstrate ERP’s power when delivered by trained specialists in an intensive format. Clients consistently describe ERP as challenging but life-changing.
Skills That Last
ERP teaches more than managing current symptoms. You learn to recognize OCD patterns, respond differently to intrusive thoughts, and face new fears independently. These become lifelong tools for maintaining recovery.
Getting Started
Our program serves individuals ages 8 and older. If OCD interferes with your life, ERP can help regardless of symptom severity or duration. Feeling nervous about starting is normal, and our clinicians pace treatment appropriately while challenging you to grow.
The courage to begin is rewarded with lasting freedom from OCD.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ERP therapy?
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold standard treatment for OCD. It involves deliberately facing feared situations while resisting compulsive behaviors, teaching the brain that anxiety decreases naturally without rituals.
Is ERP available in Draper, Utah?
Yes, our virtual intensive outpatient program serves Draper, Utah residents, delivering ERP therapy from home through secure video technology with outcomes identical to in-person treatment.
How quickly does ERP work?
Many clients notice improvement within the first few weeks of treatment. Our 16-week program provides sufficient time for meaningful symptom reduction, with clients achieving an average 64% reduction.
Is ERP uncomfortable?
ERP involves facing fears, which brings temporary discomfort. However, exposures are introduced gradually with clinician support. Most clients find temporary difficulty worthwhile for lasting freedom.
What if my OCD thoughts are embarrassing?
Our clinicians specialize in OCD and have worked with every type of obsession. Nothing you share will surprise them. OCD often attaches to topics that feel shameful, but intrusive thoughts do not reflect your character.
Can ERP make OCD worse?
ERP does not make OCD worse. While anxiety temporarily increases during exposures, this is part of the learning process. With proper guidance, ERP produces lasting symptom reduction.
ERP provides a proven path to freedom from OCD. Our virtual intensive outpatient program offers Draper, Utah residents specialized ERP therapy that produces lasting results. Contact us at 866-303-4227 to learn how our program can help you break free from OCD.
