Millions of Americans are plagued by some degree of compulsive disorder. These disorders range in severity and focus, which means they also vary in impact on people’s lives. When treatment is required, the approaches are similar and beneficial and most successful when used in combination.
Types of Treatment
Effective compulsive disorder treatment may require education, psychotherapy, and medication used together to give the patient the greatest success and control over his condition, sometimes resulting in complete freedom from the disorder.
Education
The first step toward treating a disorder is to recognize its existence and symptoms. Potential clients need to understand the impact the disorder has on their lives in order to begin the process of eliminating, or at least controlling, it. Once the disorder is recognized, the patient can begin to understand how it functions and the resulting impact on his life. The education portion of the process can be exciting or overwhelming based on the degree of influence a disorder has, but regardless it is a crucial first step to managing the condition. Education empowers a patient to begin changing his life.
Psychotherapy
Following or in conjunction with education, a patient can use psychotherapy to target the causes and control the effects of a disorder. Psychotherapy may involve behavioral modification strategies, relaxation techniques, or other mental coping skills. In some cases, alternative methods, like yoga or meditation, may be effective in giving the patient control of his condition. Psychotherapy may require varying degrees of time based on the severity of the patient’s condition, but can be truly powerful without the negative side effects of medication. Resources for psychotherapy are abundant and valuable for numerous conditions in addition to compulsive disorders.
Medication
Finally, in coordination with other treatment approaches, medication can be helpful in the treatment of disorders. Medications for compulsive disorder may be similar to those used for anxiety and are prescribed to help the efficacy of other therapies, like the positive coping methods learned in counseling. Whenever possible, providers will seek to maximize the effectiveness of other therapies and rely on medications only to improve the success of those methods.
Compulsive disorder treatment can significantly change the lives of patients, especially when they are given the combined tools of education, psychotherapy, and medication. Each of these approaches has the capacity to support a patient through the challenge of understanding and overcoming his specific disorder and the related difficulties that come with it.
