A Neurologically-Informed Treatment of OCD
Breaking Free from Obsessions, Worry, and Avoidance
- Speaker:
- Catherine Pittman, PhD, HSPP
- Duration:
- 3 Hours 17 Minutes
- Language:
- Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
- Copyright:
-
Mar 23, 2025
- Product Code:
- NOS096526
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
Description
What are we trying to accomplish when treating OCD? Reducing anxiety? Preventing compulsions? Putting a person in control of their life? These intentions can keep us from being truly helpful. To break the stranglehold of avoidance and obsession, and combat the paralysing effects of compulsions, clients need to learn the central roles of the amygdala and cortex pathways to empower them to confront their OCD, rather than let it direct their lives. You will learn and practice strategies to explain brain-based techniques that give clients effective methods to retrain the OCD brain. You’ll explore how to:
- Help clients see the functioning of the amygdala in their physical symptoms and avoidance, and how they can effectively calm the amygdala
- Provide Exposure with Response Prevention as the best method of teaching the amygdala new responses to triggers
- Use the most current knowledge on cortex areas that contribute to OCD to teach clients to resist circular processes that block their goals
- Teach clients a neurologically informed, mindful approach to obsession and worry that’s understandable, accessible, and empowering
Credit
Program Information
Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationshipsAll members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners. For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.
NOTE: Tuition includes one free CE Certificate (participant will be able to print the certificate of completion after passing the online post-test (80% passing score) and completing the evaluation). Instructional methods will include PowerPoint, didactic lecture, and others.
Continuing Education Information: Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Program content is reviewed periodically per accrediting board rules for currency and appropriateness for credit. Credit approvals are subject to change. Please note, your licensing board dictates whether self-study is an acceptable form of continuing education, as well as which credit types are acceptable for continuing education hours. Please refer to your licensing board's rules and regulations. If your profession is not listed, please contact your licensing board to determine your continuing education requirements and check for reciprocal approval.
For other credit inquiries not specified below, please contact info@pesi.com or 800-844-8260 before purchase.
Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of your profession. As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your profession's standards.
For Planning Committee disclosures, please see the statement above. For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.
Earn up to 3.0 CE hours. Please see below, for more details, as credit amounts vary by jurisdiction and profession.
PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association to offer continuing education for counsellors and psychotherapists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This self-study activity is approved for 3.0 credit hours.
PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This program is approved for 3.0 self-study continuing education hours. Full credit statement at: www.pesi.com/cpa-statement

PESI, Inc., #1062, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: January 27, 2026 - January 27, 2029. Social workers completing this course receive 3.0 Clinical continuing education credits.
Course Level: Intermediate Format: Recorded asynchronous distance. Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance.
Canadian Social Workers: Canadian provinces may accept activities offered by providers approved by the ASWB ACE program for ongoing professional development.
This self-study activity qualifies for 3.0 continuing education clock hours as required by many national and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Save your activity advertisement and certificate of completion, and contact your own board or organization for specific requirements.

This self-study course has been approved by PESI, Inc., as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #77553. PESI, Inc. is responsible for all aspects of their programming.
This self-study course offers 3.0 continuing education contact hours in the Counseling Services skill group. Full attendance is required; no partial credit will be awarded for partial attendance.
Handouts
| File type | File name | Number of pages | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual - A Neurologically Informed Treatment of OCD (3.5 MB) | 171 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - A Neurologically Informed Treatment of OCD - French (3.5 MB) | 171 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - A Neurologically Informed Treatment of OCD - Italian (3.5 MB) | 171 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - A Neurologically Informed Treatment of OCD - German (3.5 MB) | 171 Pages | Available after Purchase | |
| Manual - A Neurologically Informed Treatment of OCD - Spanish (3.5 MB) | 171 Pages | Available after Purchase |
Speaker
Catherine Pittman, PhD, HSPP Related seminars and products
Saint Mary's College
Catherine Pittman, PhD, HSPP, is a licensed clinical psychologist and psychology professor at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, who’s spent over 30 years treating anxiety and brain injuries. She’s the author of Taming Your Amygdala, and trains therapists in neurologically informed CBT.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Catherine Pittman has employment relationships with Saint Mary's College and Renew Counseling. She receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Pittman receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Catherine Pittman is a member of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
Additional Info
Program Information
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com
Questions?
Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.
Objectives
- Help clients see the functioning of the amygdala in their physical symptoms and avoidance, and how they can effectively calm the amygdala.
- Provide Exposure with Response Prevention as the best method of teaching the amygdala new responses to triggers.
- Use the most current knowledge on cortex areas that contribute to OCD to teach clients to resist circular processes that block their goals.
- Teach clients a neurologically informed, mindful approach to obsession and worry that’s understandable, accessible, and empowering.
Outline
The Nature of OCD
- Diagnosis of OCD, common symptoms, prevalence
- Brain areas implicated
- Limitations of the research on causes and treatment of OCD
- Importance of therapeutic relationship
Teaching Clients Where Their Anxiety Comes From
- Explaining Neuroplasticity
- Amygdala and cortex pathways to anxiety
- Help clients recognise both pathways: Useful examples
- Assessing when anxiety is initiated in the amygdala vs. cortex
- Shifting from anxiety reduction to changing the brain
Explaining the Amygdala in OCD Treatment
- Explanation of Fight/Flight/Freeze Response and physical symptoms
- Survey to assess F/F/F tendencies
- The amygdala as protector and its limitations
- Promoting mindfulness in responding to the amygdala
- Helping clients see how the amygdala blocks their goals
- Helping client develop personal goals
- Evidence-based strategies for reducing amygdala activation
Exposure as Teaching the Amygdala
- Worksheets for trigger selection and hierarchy development
- Agreement on tasks is essential
- General guidelines for exposure
- Tips for exposure effectiveness
- Use of imagery in exposure
- Resisting compulsions with response prevention
- Risks, limitations, and concerns
- Case examples
Neurologically-Informed Interventions for Cortex Pathway
- Relationship of cortex to amygdala
- How the cortex activates the amygdala
- The problem of cognitive fusion in OCD
- Surveys to identify amygdala-activating cognitions
- Explanations that motivate clients
- Mindfulness to combat amygdala-activating cognitions
- Distraction, including limitations
- When cognitions interfere with Exposure
- Case examples
Target Audience
- Addiction Counsellors
- Counsellors
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Nurses
- Physicians
- Psychologists
- Social Workers
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