Photo caption: Principal investigators Dr. Noam Soreni, psychiatrist and Dr. Karen Rowa, psychologist from St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton.
“I'm so OCD."
“There goes my OCD again."
“I wish I had OCD so I was more organized."
You have likely heard these phrases casually thrown into conversations. What you may not know is that obsessive compulsive disorder is rated one of the top ten most debilitating medical conditions by the World Health Organization. A widely misunderstood mental health illness, OCD can be debilitating, even requiring invasive brain surgery for treatment at its most severe.
Now, researchers from St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton are leading a four-year study to determine if supporting family members and loved of those living with OCD will create better outcomes for both parties. Often, loved ones will accommodate the patient's obsessive compulsions out of love and support. This can look like providing excessive reassurance or participating in rituals to make them go faster and ease their loved one's burden. Unfortunately, these responses can worsen symptoms and feed the OCD.
“The biggest misconception is that OCD is good for you, that it's fun to have" says Dr. Karen Rowa, a psychologist and clinical director at the St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton anxiety treatment and research clinic. “OCD is a problematic, distressing disorder. It corrupts those traits that people associate with OCD, like being neat and perfectionistic, and makes them so overwhelming that it takes time away from being the person you want to be. Trust me, you don't want OCD."
“Let's say the person living with OCD is worried they touched something contaminated and are going to pass an illness onto their child," says Dr. Rowa. “They may ask their spouse, 'Are you sure that wasn't dangerous?' The spouse will answer, but the person with OCD might doubt that and ask again and again and again. That action of continuing to respond and accommodate is what can make things worse, even when the intention is to provide comfort and reassurance. It actually reinforces that the OCD is meaningful, that the obsessions the person has are dangerous and need to be dealt with."
$1 Million Investment to Ease the Burden on Patients and Loved Ones
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research recently announced it is investing $937,124 to support this new research. Dr. Rowa, along with co-principal investigator and psychiatrist Dr. Noam Soreni, hope to recruit more than 200 family members at St. Joe's and Sunnybrook's Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre who will receive care while their loved ones then receive treatment from a separate mental health worker. Family members have always had access to education sessions at St. Joe's while their loved ones undergo treatment, but this new intervention provides more direct support.
About 35 family members and loved ones took part in a pilot trial to prepare for this new research project. The initial pilot was funded by a generous private donor, who lives with OCD and found support and effective treatment through the mental health program at St. Joe's. The pilot received incredible feedback, with loved ones understanding how to participate in helpful, supportive ways instead of just accommodating compulsions.
“It's probably one of the most rewarding things that Dr. Soreni and I have done because the family members were so happy to have some direct help and education. They had a chance to ask questions and demystify the disease. More than that, their own feelings and experiences were being recognized. They were kind of gobsmacked because usually no one asks how they're doing because they are so focused on the person living with OCD."
Dr. Rowa considers this research to have a no-lose outcome, as one half of participants will receive the family accommodation reduction intervention, and the other half will receive psychoeducation to help them understand the intricacies of OCD and how to support their loved ones. While previous research has been done on the best ways to support loved ones, this project is unique in that it will look at not only how this intervention helps the loved one, but also how it helps the person with OCD over the long term.
“We hope this research has a huge impact on our clinical practice and patients here in Hamilton, but also across Canada and worldwide where people are trying to support those living with OCD."