Working with OCD & EMDR - Working with sexual, aggressive and religious obsessions - with Karsten Böhm

In person only - NOT recorded

🎓 6 CPD Points from EMDR UK.

🍽️ Lunch and Refreshments will be provided. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements.

How do we identify useful EMDR targets when a client’s distress centres on intrusive sexual, aggressive or religious thoughts?

The East Midlands EMDR Regional Group is delighted to welcome Dr Karsten Böhm for a practical CPD workshop exploring EMDR as an additional approach within the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Drawing on research and clinical experience, Karsten will explore treatment planning, target selection, OCD-specific interweaves and working with blocked processing. Video examples, demonstrations, role-play and structured worksheets will connect the learning with everyday clinical practice.

The day will also consider different OCD presentations, the ICD-11 framework, and differences between EMDR work with OCD and PTSD.

OCDs are difficult to treat. Various studies have demonstrated that 15–40% of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) do not respond to it; they cannot be motivated to undergo treatment, drop out, or experience persisting difficulties in regulating their emotions. In this practical workshop on OCD, EMDR is presented in a new procedure, following international evidence-based guidelines such as NICE, APA, German DGPPN S3-guidlines. Furthermore, the new ICD-11 definition of OCD will be presented and related disorders discussed.

OCD-patients experienced EMDR as a useful and motivating therapy. Furthermore, they felt encouraged to deal with their emotions in additional psychological treatments. Our new in-vivo EMDR therapy markedly reduced OCD symptoms. EMDR is shown as an useful treatment in working with patients suffering from OCD by using videos, live role-plays, live-demonstrations and speech. Especially, the treatment planning, the timing in therapy and the best targets to use for OCD-patients will be shown.

Learning outcomes

• Apply the EMDR protocol in OCD, with demonstration and role-play

• Differentiate washing/checking OCD and related hoarding difficulties

• Use structured worksheets for OCD themes

• Understand OCD within the ICD-11 framework

• Select appropriate EMDR targets for OCD

• Differentiate EMDR work in OCD and PTSD

• Integrate behavioural and emotional aspects of OCD treatment

• Work with negative and positive cognitions in OCD

• Develop an individualised plan with OCD-specific procedures

About the Presenter
Dr. Phil. Karsten R. Böhm, Clinical Psychologist, is a Senior Trainer in EMDR, lecturer in CBT and specialist in OCD, Anxiety Disorders and PTSD psychotherapy. He is vice-president of the German EMDRIA board and also member of the German National Guideline Commissions on the treatment of OCD and of PTSD. Next to it, he is a lecturer for psychotherapy at the EMDR-Institute Germany, institutes for Cognitive Behavior Therapy (Universities of Freiburg, Munich, Bale in Switzerland, Berlin), medical councils and on different congresses (DGPPN Congress Berlin etc.). He has published a number of books, articles, chapters and working materials on the use of EMDR therapy. From 2003-2009, he worked as a clinical and ward psychologist (OCD unit) at the University Hospital of Freiburg and from 2009-2021 as a leading psychologist (latest in Clinic Friedenweiler in the Black Forrest close to Freiburg, Germany).