Should you help a person with OCD do their checks?

This study is unable to show that accommodation by one partner caused the other partner's worse symptoms - the causal direction could run either way. However, past longitudinal research in a family setting has shown that reductions in accommodation precede patient improvement. In the current study, Boeding's team also found that individuals who performed more of their partner's OCD checks tended to report less relationship satisfaction, consistent with past research suggesting the process of accommodation can be "taxing and frustrating" for care-givers. In turn, patients with a partner who performed more accommodation tended to report that their partner was more critical of their OCD. "Although accommodation might serve to alleviate patient distress momentarily, it does not do so within the framework of a positive, satisfying relationship," warned Boeding and her colleagues. This is a pilot study with a small sample size, and in 19 of the couples, the patient was the woman. This limits how much we can take larger lessons from these results. However, it's the first time that OCD accommodation has been studied in a couple context and this marks an important first step towards understanding the role of relationship context in recovery from OCD. Although it is tempting to help a person with OCD complete their checks and rituals, Boeding's team advised that it is more beneficial in the long run "to provide esteem support and encourage the patient to 'get through' the anxiet...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Source Type: blogs