Thoughts, Images, Urges, and Mental Compulsions CE Webinar for therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists
 
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Thoughts, Images, Urges, and Mental Compulsions: The Non-Hollywood Side of OCD - 3 CEUs


To access the discount form for registering for multiple workshops or participants, please click here.

*For more information about our various ERP Certification programs, please visit our detailed ERP Certifications Page here!*

When & Where:

  • Date: Friday, May 16, 2025
  • Time: 2:00pm - 5:15pm Eastern Time
  • CE Hours Included: 3 Core (please see below for details)
  • Location: Live Interactive Webinar ("Synchronous") on Zoom
  • Investment: $87 before Friday, May 2nd at 5:00pm Eastern Time, $97 after
    • To pay with PayPal, ACH transfer, or CashApp, please email us at [email protected] or call us at 404-913-2005. Otherwise, click below on "Save Your Spot Now!"
  • Presented by: Patrick McGrath, Ph.D., ACERP, CERP-P & Jon Hershfield, LMFT, ACERP, CERP-P (see bios below)
  • Workshop Recording: A recording of this workshop is available to review for 60 days after the presentation. However, participants must attend live to receive the "Synchronous" CE Certificate.
  • Instruction Level: Intermediate
  • Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Psychotherapists, Other Mental Health Professionals

Learning Objectives:

In this workshop, you will learn how to:

  • Describe at least five distinct mental compulsions.
  • Apply exposure and response prevention (ERP) techniques that specifically target mental compulsions.
  • Differentiate mental compulsions in OCD to mental behaviors in other psychiatric conditions.

Workshop Description:

While many people are familiar with OCD in the sense of what they see in movies or TV shows (i.e., people washing their hands, straightening things, and checking the locks or the stove), there is another side of OCD that is not often acknowledged - the mental compulsion. Sometimes referred to as Pure O, OCD with only (or primarily) mental compulsions is common and can be difficult to treat if you are not trained in identifying how mental compulsions manifest themselves.

These may include the following:

  • Saying a prayer over and over until it is just right
  • Counting words, ceiling tiles, or people
  • Reviewing the conversation that you just had for hours to be sure that you did not offend anyone
  • Playing out hypothetical future scenarios to check or self-reassure oneself about feared behaviors or desires

Mental compulsions are just as devastating as physical compulsions when it comes to interfering in the life of a person with OCD.

This workshop will focus on how to bring Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to bear on mental compulsions. Through a thorough review of the various subtypes of OCD, the presenters will give examples of the way mental compulsions can play a role in the maintenance of OCD and then discuss how to develop ERP exercises to specifically challenge those mental compulsions, to decrease the influence of OCD in the life of the sufferer.

Your presenters bring to you over 40 years of combined experience in treating OCD and over 25 books and publications on the topics of OCD, ERP, and anxiety. They have experience in individual and intensive (IOP, PHP, and Residential) therapy for OCD and are frequent presenters at conferences and trainings nationally and internationally.

Presented by:

Patrick McGrath Ph.D., ACERP, CERP-P

Patrick B. McGrath, Ph.D., is a Licensed Psychologist in Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri. He specializes in the treatment of Anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. To treat these disorders, he utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
Dr. McGrath has given over 800 presentations on the treatment of Anxiety Disorders, OCD, and PTSD at schools, hospitals, private practices, and universities, as well as local, national, and international conferences. He has trained tens of thousands of therapists both nationally and internationally.
Dr. McGrath has supervised well over 50 students through practicum, internship, and postdoctoral fellowships in his career. He is the author or co-author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, and he has also authored a book on OCD (The OCD Answer Book) and a stress management manual (Don’t Try Harder, Try Different).
Dr. McGrath currently serves as the Head of Clinical Services for NOCD, leading their teletherapy services across the United States to help people with OCD. He is also a Lead Psychologist at AMITA Health, where he opened their Intensive Outpatient, Partial Hospital, and Residential Treatment Programs for Anxiety Disorders, OCD, and PTSD. He is also the President of Anxiety Centers of Illinois, a private practice group, and a member of the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Boards of the International OCD Foundation. He is a Fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the President of OCD Midwest.

Jon Hershfield, LMFT, ACERP, CERP-P

Jon Hershfield, MFT, is a psychotherapist and director of The Center for OCD and Anxiety at Sheppard Pratt, which provides evidence-based outpatient care for individuals and families with OCD and related disorders. He also directs the OCD Program at the Retreat, Sheppard Pratt’s private pay residential program. Prior to joining Sheppard Pratt, Jon was Director of The OCD and Anxiety Center of Greater Baltimore, Associate Director of the UCLA Pediatric OCD Intensive Outpatient Program at Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, and psychotherapist at the OCD Center of Los Angeles. He is co-author of The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD and Everyday Mindfulness for OCD and author of When a Family Member Has OCD, Overcoming Harm OCD, and The OCD Workbook for Teens. Jon is a frequent speaker at International OCD Foundation events and webinars and the annual conference of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Workshop Schedule (Eastern Time):

  • 1:30pm - 2:00pm | Sign-In and Welcome
  • 2:00pm - 3:30pm | Session
  • 3:30pm - 3:45pm | Break
  • 3:45pm - 5:15pm | Session
  • 5:15pm | Continuing Education Certificates Available

3 Core CE Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:

  • PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
  • COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please click here for more detailed information.
  • SOCIAL WORKERS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
  • MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.

To view our various workshop policies, including our multi-workshop discount & refund policy, please click here.

We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.

Neither the Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program.


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Workshop Coordinator at:

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