DIAGNOSES

The New Jersey Center for OCD and Anxiety, LLC is committed to serving individuals with OCD, anxiety, tics, and body-focused repetitive behaviors. These disorders range from mild to severe and the symptom presentations vary widely across individuals. The Center utilizes a comprehensive evaluation and a cognitive behavioral theoretical orientation to tailor the intervention to match the unique individual. These treatments are considered the most up-to-date and evidence-based interventions. Our treatment goals primarily focus on improving the person’s functioning, as well as helping the individual to live a life according to their values. Ultimately, we hope for the individual to gain mastery of the treatment principles and be able to handle the symptoms independently in the future.

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD is diagnosed when an individual presents with obsessions (intrusive and unwanted thoughts, images or impulses that cause distress) and compulsions (actions or rituals, including mental rituals that serve to reduce the anxiety or distress associated with the obsession) that are causing significant interference in the person’s life. The obsessions and compulsions vary greatly among individuals. Most commonly observed are the following content area: germs/contamination, a “just right” phenomenon, fear of harm, religious obsessions, perfectionism, symmetry and sexual obsessions.

For more information, please visit: https://iocdf.org/

ANXIETY DISORDERS

Anxiety disorders include many different presentations that are experienced as highly distressing and interfering in a person’s life. They may resemble common worries or things that may make others mildly anxious, yet the individual with an anxiety disorder experiences the situation with excessive amounts of distress and/or is unable to manage the symptoms or situation. Each anxiety disorder includes an excessive concern with different content areas. Targets may include everyday worries that are excessive, as seen in generalized anxiety disorder, fears of specific objects or situations, as seen in phobias, a concern for social appraisal, as seen in social anxiety disorder or a hypersensitivity to physiological arousal, as seen in panic disorder.

For more information, please visit:

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml

TICS AND TOURETTE'S SYNDROME

Tics and Tourette’s Disorder entail the presence of unwanted, repetitive movements or vocalizations that intend to reduce the build-up of an urge in the person’s body. These movements and vocalizations often feel uncontrollable and are difficult to manage. The tics often wax and wane over time, can have specific triggers or no pattern to the changes in urges and tics. Tics are often disruptive to the person’s daily functioning, may cause social difficulties and can cause physical pain or damage to the specific body parts involved in the tic.

For more information, please visit:

https://tourette.org/about-tourette/overview/what-is-tourette/

BODY FOCUSED REPETITIVE BEHAVIORS (BFRBs)

Body-focused repetitive behaviors or BFRBs include a group of related disorders, such as trichotillomania or hair-pulling and excoriation or skin-picking. These disorders consist of behaviors that lead to damage to the body and are often triggered by an urge to engage in the behavior. Stopping or interrupting the behavior is often very difficult and some individuals engage in the behaviors without awareness.

For more information, please visit: https://www.bfrb.org/learn-about-bfrbs