THE GOAL OF OCD TREATMENT

AN INTERVIEW WITH: DR. SARAH SCHALL, PSYD

Interview

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF OCD TREATMENT?

When you look at the initial models of like ERP , you see there was a large focus on exposures, the goal of habituation, basically meaning like we want to do things over and over again until like there’s no distress, right? But from my personal experience, I’ve found that like some intrusive thoughts, related to OCD, will always be distressing. The goal is not for us to do exposure so that they’re not distressing. The goal is to be able to have the thoughts, allow them to exist, but then still be able to engage in one’s life, right? So for instance, there’s some “taboo” OCD themes that often people don’t think about or talk about. So maybe even, you might think of OCD as like contamination germs. Very true. But there’s other types of OCD, like for instance, sexually intrusive thoughts related to incest, pedophilia, animals. Where like I might never not feel distressed if I think of incest, right? But what I try to help people do is to make room and space for those thoughts and still be able to do their value based lives. So like be around their family or be around their animals… ’cause like they love them. Sometimes people do habituate when we do exposure work, like it’s sometimes just a byproduct. But what I’ve seen in the field is a transition of like that being the goal to really, you know, it could happen, but if it doesn’t, that’s okay too. And it’s not a measure of our success when we’re doing OCD work.

BIO :: Dr. Sarah Schall

Dr. Schall is a graduate of the International OCD Foundation’s (IOCDF) Behavioral Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) which consists of intensive training in the assessment and treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) utilizing Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). She specializes in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), incorporating value-based interventions tailored to an individual’s treatment goals, empowering clients to face their fears with her support. She is a member of the American Psychological Association as well as the IOCDF, where she is listed in their directory of specialized providers. Dr. Schall completed her pre-doctoral internship at M Health Fairview (Rotations: Inpatient Psychiatry & Inpatient Chemical Dependency). She completed post-doctoral fellowships at Garfield Park Behavioral Hospital (Rotations: Inpatient Psychiatry, Partial Hospitalization & Outpatient Programs) and at Rogers Behavioral Health (Rotations: Partial Hospitalization & Intensive Outpatient Programs)

UNIVERSITIES + DEGREES: University of La Verne [Doctor of Psychology], University of La Verne [Master of Science in Psychology], Marymount California University [Bachelor of Arts in Psychology] 

CLINICAL SPECIALIZATION: Dr. Schall specializes in the treatment of OCD and anxiety-related disorders. She has experience working in a variety of mental health settings including inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient programs. Dr. Schall previously was a member of the Medical Staff at Rogers Behavioral Health (RBH), supervising clinicians in OCD/Anxiety and Depression Recovery partial/intensive outpatient programs. She continues to provide per diem assessment and consultation services to RBH, utilizing her expertise in evidence-based treatments. Dr. Schall has presented at the IOCDF’s annual conference discussing the importance of delivering justice-based ERP with OCD themes centered around marginalized identities (e.g., sexual and gender identity, race, body shape, socioeconomic status, etc.). Dr. Schall additionally has a private practice based in Newport Beach, CA. 

CERTIFICATIONS: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)