Thoughts, Images, Urges, and Mental Compulsions: Case Presentations CE Webinar for therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists
 
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Thoughts, Images, Urges, and Mental Compulsions: Case Presentations - 3 CEUs


To access the discount form for registering for multiple workshops or participants, please click here.

*For more information about our various ERP Certification programs, please visit our detailed ERP Certifications Page here!*

When & Where:

  • Date: Friday, October 10, 2025
  • Time: 1:00pm - 4:15pm Eastern Time
  • CE Hours Included: 3 Core (please see below for details)
  • Location: Live Interactive Webinar ("Synchronous") on Zoom
  • Investment: $87 before Friday, September 26th at 5:00pm Eastern Time, $97 after
  • Presented by: Patrick McGrath, Ph.D., ACERP, CERP-P & Jon Hershfield, LMFT, ACERP, CERP-P (see bios below)
  • Workshop Recording: A recording of this workshop is available to review for 60 days after the presentation. However, participants must attend live to receive the "Synchronous" CE Certificate.
  • Instruction Level: Intermediate
  • Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Psychotherapists, Other Mental Health Professionals

Learning Objectives:

After completing this workshop in its entirety, you will learn how to:

  • Discuss case examples for at least five distinct mental presentations, including Harm OCD, Relationship OCD, Sexual Orientation OCD, Existential OCD, and Pedophilia OCD.
  • Apply ERP strategies specifically designed to disrupt mental rituals and reduce reactivity to intrusive thoughts, images, and urges.
  • Tailor exposures to the unique cognitive and emotional challenges of presentations, empowering clients to confront feared thoughts without engaging in covert rituals.

Workshop Description:

If you have struggled with helping people who experience mental compulsions, we have you covered. Our goal in this talk is to run through numerous case examples to review how we made ERP for mental compulsion-based OCD. We will show you how to identify a mental compulsion (you have to ask about them), and then how to conceptualize ERP for them. Along the way, there will be some humor, friendly banter, and on-the-fly ERP for all to enjoy and participate in.

By the end of this workshop, clinicians will leave with practical tools to confidently recognize and intervene with the hidden compulsions that keep OCD intact—even when there’s nothing to see on the surface.

Workshop Agenda:

  • Welcome & Orientation (15 minutes)
    • Overview of learning objectives and agenda
    • Introduction to OCD presentations dominated by internal experiences: thoughts, images, urges, and mental rituals
    • Common reasons these cases are overlooked or misclassified
  • Case-Based Deep Dive: Five Internally Focused OCD Presentations (45 minutes)
    • Objective: Review case examples and detailed treatment for at least five distinct mental compulsions
    • Clinical case examples with structured analysis of:
      • Harm OCD
      • Relationship OCD
      • Sexual Orientation OCD
      • Existential OCD
      • Pedophilia OCD
    • Identifying the subtle but powerful role of covert mental rituals (e.g., mental reviewing, analyzing, and neutralizing)
  • Break (15 minutes)
  • Targeted ERP for Mental Compulsions, Intrusive Thoughts, and Urges (80 minutes)
    • Objective: Apply ERP techniques that specifically target mental rituals and internal distress (40 minutes)
    • Developing exposure tasks that address internal stimuli rather than external triggers
    • Strategies for preventing:
      • Thought suppression
      • Mental rituals
      • Internal reassurance
      • Emotional avoidance
    • Objective: Tailor exposures to the unique cognitive and emotional challenges of presentations, empowering clients to confront feared thoughts without engaging in covert rituals (30 minutes)
    • Differentiate mental compulsions from rumination
    • Functional definitions of each process
    • Understanding intention, awareness, and reinforcement
    • Clinical exercises:
      • Discuss the key principles of scripting and loop tapes to use with clients
  • Clinical Application and Treatment Planning (30 minutes)
    • Treatment planning walkthrough for one complex, internally focused OCD case that a participant provides
    • Mapping ERP hierarchies that address invisible compulsions
    • Troubleshooting common client barriers: “But I’m just thinking” or “I have to be sure”
    • Group Q&A and apply principles to additional cases, time permitting
  • Wrap-Up & Evaluation (10 minutes)
    • Review of key takeaways
    • Resources for further learning and consultation

Presented by:

Patrick McGrath, Ph.D., ACERP, CERP-P

Patrick B. McGrath, Ph.D., is a Licensed Psychologist in Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri. He specializes in the treatment of Anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. To treat these disorders, he utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
Dr. McGrath has given over 800 presentations on the treatment of Anxiety Disorders, OCD, and PTSD at schools, hospitals, private practices, and universities, as well as local, national, and international conferences. He has trained tens of thousands of therapists both nationally and internationally.
Dr. McGrath has supervised well over 50 students through practicum, internship, and postdoctoral fellowships in his career. He is the author or co-author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, and he has also authored a book on OCD (The OCD Answer Book) and a stress management manual (Don’t Try Harder, Try Different).
Dr. McGrath currently serves as the Head of Clinical Services for NOCD, leading their teletherapy services across the United States to help people with OCD. He is also a Lead Psychologist at AMITA Health, where he opened their Intensive Outpatient, Partial Hospital, and Residential Treatment Programs for Anxiety Disorders, OCD, and PTSD. He is also the President of Anxiety Centers of Illinois, a private practice group, and a member of the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Boards of the International OCD Foundation. He is a Fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the President of OCD Midwest.

Jon Hershfield, LMFT, ACERP, CERP-P

Jon Hershfield, MFT, is a psychotherapist and director of The Center for OCD and Anxiety at Sheppard Pratt, which provides evidence-based outpatient care for individuals and families with OCD and related disorders. He also directs the OCD Program at the Retreat, Sheppard Pratt’s private pay residential program. Prior to joining Sheppard Pratt, Jon was Director of The OCD and Anxiety Center of Greater Baltimore, Associate Director of the UCLA Pediatric OCD Intensive Outpatient Program at Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, and psychotherapist at the OCD Center of Los Angeles. He is co-author of The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD and Everyday Mindfulness for OCD and author of When a Family Member Has OCD, Overcoming Harm OCD, and The OCD Workbook for Teens. Jon is a frequent speaker at International OCD Foundation events and webinars and the annual conference of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Workshop Schedule (Eastern Time):

  • 12:30pm - 1:00pm | Sign-In and Welcome
  • 1:00pm - 2:30pm | Session
  • 2:30pm - 2:45pm | Break
  • 2:45pm - 4:15pm | Session
  • 4:15pm | Continuing Education Certificates Available

3 Core CE Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:

  • PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
  • COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please click here for more detailed information.
  • SOCIAL WORKERS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
  • MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.

To view our various workshop policies, including our multi-workshop discount & refund policy, please click here.

We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.

Neither the Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program.


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