Trauma Training
OCD Treatment for Trauma Therapists: I-CBT, ERP, and OCD and PTSD Comorbidity Training
Trainer: Bronwyn Shroyer
On-Demand: Available with lifetime access for asynchronous learning. | This course was recorded on September 20th, 2024.
OCD shows up in trauma caseloads more than most therapists expect. And when it does, it doesn't just sit alongside PTSD - it actively interferes with trauma treatment, blocks processing, and is easy to miss if you're not sure what you're looking for.
This course is built for trauma therapists who are encountering OCD in their caseloads and want a clear clinical framework for what it is, how to distinguish it from PTSD, and what to do about it. Led by Bronwyn Shroyer, one of the first Inference-based CBT trainers in the world and a specialist in comorbid OCD and PTSD, this training covers the full clinical picture: diagnostic criteria, sub-types, differential diagnosis, and four evidence-based treatment approaches including ERP, ACT, I-CBT, and EMDR.
You don't need to become an OCD specialist to take this course. You need enough knowledge to recognize OCD when it's present, understand how it interacts with your trauma work, apply evidence-based interventions when appropriate, and make a confident referral when the clinical picture calls for it. This training gives you all of that.
Practical Interventions You'll Learn
In this OCD and PTSD treatment training, you'll learn how to:
- Diagnose OCD accurately using diagnostic criteria, sub-type identification, and assessment tools, and differentiate it from PTSD in presentations where the two overlap or co-occur
- Identify when OCD is interfering with trauma treatment, including how to recognize static vs. dynamic presentations and dissociative features that complicate the clinical picture
- Apply Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) as a first-line OCD treatment, including how to introduce and implement it with clients who also carry trauma histories
- Use Inference-based CBT (I-CBT) to address the reasoning distortions that drive OCD, with direct training from one of the first I-CBT trainers in the world
- Integrate ACT approaches to reduce OCD-driven avoidance and help clients clarify values-based action when OCD is pulling them away from meaningful engagement
- Understand the current research on EMDR and OCD and determine when EMDR may be an appropriate option, particularly in comorbid OCD and PTSD presentations
- Use parts work and emerging adjunct treatments alongside first-line OCD interventions to address the internal experience driving obsessional content
- Assess family accommodation patterns and understand how OCD shapes family dynamics, so treatment planning accounts for the full relational context
What You'll Learn
By the end of this training, you will be able to:
- Distinguish between PTSD and OCD symptoms, and apply that differential diagnosis to cases where both presentations are active simultaneously
- Apply an understanding of the ego-dystonic nature of OCD to case conceptualization, and explain it to clients in language that reduces shame and builds treatment motivation
- Differentiate between ERP, ACT, and I-CBT as treatment options for OCD, and identify which approach fits which clinical presentation
- Assess whether OCD symptoms are occurring during and actively interfering with PTSD treatment, and develop a clinical response that addresses both
- Distinguish when EMDR may be an appropriate treatment option for OCD, and describe how it might fit into a comorbid OCD and PTSD treatment plan
- Demonstrate an understanding of how OCD affects family dynamics and accommodation patterns, and integrate that awareness into treatment planning
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for trauma therapists who want a working clinical framework for OCD, whether or not they plan to specialize in it. It is a strong fit if you are:
- A trauma therapist who has noticed possible OCD presentations in clients but felt uncertain about how to assess for it, differentiate it from PTSD, or explain it in a way that reduces shame and builds treatment buy-in
- Working with clients whose trauma treatment keeps stalling in ways you can't fully account for, and wanting to understand whether OCD may be interfering with processing
- Wanting to know the difference between ERP, ACT, and I-CBT as treatment options, and when each one is the right clinical call, rather than defaulting to a single approach for every OCD presentation
- Treating clients with comorbid OCD and PTSD and looking for a framework that addresses both rather than forcing you to choose which one to treat first
- Not planning to become an OCD specialist, but wanting enough knowledge to recognize OCD accurately, apply evidence-based interventions where appropriate, and make an informed referral when the case calls for it
- Seeking NBCC and ASWB/ACE continuing education in OCD and trauma at the intersection of both conditions, in a flexible on-demand format with 6 CEs
No prerequisites required. This course is not an EMDR training.
About Your Trainer, Bronwyn Shroyer, LCSW
Bronwyn Shroyer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Trauma Therapist Institute Faculty, and Co-Founder of OCD Training School. Her clinical practice focuses on treating those with OCD, OCD+PTSD, and/or infidelity trauma.
Bronwyn is one of the first Inference-based CBT trainers in the world and is trained by I-CBT Co-founder, Dr. Frederick Aardema. In her work with OCD Training School, Bronwyn provides training on OCD and PTSD, in addition to cultivating a training library for OCD and related disorders with both live and on demand courses for clinicians from specialists in the field. In partnership with Dr. Frederick Aardema, she and her OCD Training School co-founders created the world’s first Self Help Course for using I-CBT with OCD.
Bronwyn uses evidence-based treatments such as Inference-Based CBT (I-CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Written Exposure Therapy (WET), and ego-states work in her practice. Bronwyn is an EMDR Approved Consultant and EMDR Certified Therapist. She also provides I-CBT consultation as well as consultation specific to working with comorbid OCD+PTSD symptom presentations.
Bronwyn believes that clients should be seen as more than the acronym their diagnosis tags them with and that therapists deserve to have more than one evidence-based tool in their toolbox.
Additional Information
Agenda
Learning Objectives
Prerequisites
Continuing Education
Course Completion
Cancellation Policy
