Clients with OCD, anxiety, and perfectionism are often fused with highly critical or catastrophic thoughts. This session provides hands-on methods for teaching cognitive defusion—seeing thoughts as mere words, not facts. We will specifically target subtle mental rituals (e.g., excessive reviewing, analyzing, re-assuring) and self-criticism by utilizing creative defusion techniques and exploring the Self-as-Context process to help clients view their internal experience from a broader, more flexible perspective.
Develop skills to spot the "silent" mental compulsions and cognitive avoidance strategies that maintain anxiety, OCD, and perfectionism (e.g., reviewing past interactions, trying to figure things out).
Learn and practice a range of experiential techniques (e.g., labeling thoughts, use of repetition, singing thoughts) to help clients unhook from the literal content of critical or catastrophic thoughts.
Apply specific defusion strategies to reduce the impact of the inner critic, which is a major driver of shame and avoidance in perfectionism.
Conceptualize and teach the concept of the observing self—a stable vantage point from which clients can witness their thoughts and feelings without being defined or controlled by them.