www.som360.org/es
All answers

Do yoga, meditation, or other therapies work for OCD?

Marta Carulla-Roig
Marta Carulla-Roig
Child and adolescent psychiatrist. Mental Health Area
Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona
María del Pino Alonso Ortega
María del Pino Alonso Ortega
Psychiatrist. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Unit. Psychiatry Department
Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge

The treatment for OCD is psychological and does not always require medication . Furthermore, it involves a specific type of psychotherapy: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Other types of therapy , such as psychoanalysis, have not been shown to be effective in reducing rituals or improving OCD symptoms. Yoga, meditation, and other alternative tools have not shown evidence of effectiveness in managing and treating rituals; however, they can be helpful tools for channeling anxiety , as is exercise in general. Regarding meditation, it is not a type of therapy but rather the practice of mindfulness, which allows you to acquire healthy habits, which is beneficial for your physical and mental health when there is no disorder. When a mental disorder such as OCD is present, it is advisable to seek specialized mental health services for a professional evaluation.

There is a type of third-generation psychological therapy called Mindfulness -Based Cognitive Therapy, which includes elements of meditation, but also of cognitive therapy, and has been shown to be effective in helping to improve obsessive symptoms in people with a partial response to cognitive-behavioral therapy.

You are watching
Marta Carulla-Roig
Marta Carulla-Roig
Child and adolescent psychiatrist. Mental Health Area
Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona
María del Pino Alonso Ortega
María del Pino Alonso Ortega
Psychiatrist. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Unit. Psychiatry Department
Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge