perfectionism and - Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation

Using Scaffolding Steps in Unplanned Situation
Goal: To empathetically encourage approach rather than avoidance in more real-life situations as opposed to just during planned E/RP tasks. For
example, when __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Step 1: Find out how child feels (e.g., afraid, angry, sad) and empathize with them.
The difference in this step from last week is that you must work with your child to identify the level of difficulty in this naturally occurring situation
because you want to match the difficulty level of what your child will try to do with what s/he is capable of handling at this point in treatment.
Step 2: Brainstorm with child how to approach rather than avoid the situation.
Again, the difference from last week is that you do not have the luxury of choosing this situation to match the level of difficulty that your child is ready
to tackle. Therefore, you may need to be creative to determine how to accomplish at least partial “approach” of this situation. Stated differently,
small changes from your child’s typical response to this situation are OK if complete reversal of their previous pattern is not possible. You and your
child will need to balance a number of issues (e.g., being in a hurry, being in public where others may be around) at the same time as attempting to
boss back OCD. Partial approach is better than complete avoidance.
Step 3: Choose one of the options from Step 2 and act on it.
Pick an option, now go and do it! Follow through on the exposure task.
Step 4: Evaluate and reward.
It is often the case that tasks that can be successfully completed in a controlled setting like your home are much harder when attempted elsewhere.
Therefore, it is especially important to focus on the effort that your child makes to boss back OCD and not necessarily the outcome of those efforts.
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