ABSTRACT
This chapter is designed to guide the clinician in treating an individual suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with religious features. The clinical approach that has received the highest level of empirical support for treatment efficacy is a cognitive-behavioral treatment approach. Cognitive Behavior theorists maintain that treatment efficacy will be compromised if the anxiety-decreasing behavioral response is not blocked. The next phase of treatment will focus on the identification of and desensitization to the anxiety-provoking stimulus. Using the log, the clinician can now explore in depth with the client the specifics of the avoided stimulus. This process of psychotherapy can be very difficult for the client. Once, the client and clinician have an understanding of the averted thought or image, desensitization can proceed in earnest. The psychotherapist needs to work with clients to help them learn to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy forms of prayer. This can be difficult as highly ritualized prayers are culturally normative and healthy.
