Inference-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT)
Inference-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment based on the central idea that obsessions are abnormal doubts or inferences. According to this approach, obsessional inferences of doubt arise as the result of a reasoning narrative characterized by an over-reliance on the imagination and a distrust of the senses. I-CBT aims to bring real resolution to obsessional doubts by showing the client that obsessional doubts arise as the result of a distorted obsessional narrative.
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As a person who lives with OCD, who has used ACT and ERP, I felt something was missing from each modality that I couldn't seem to figure out until I discovered Inference Based CBT. While traditional CBT is often not helpful for Neurodivergent individuals, I-CBT is different in that it encourages us to seek the root of the obsessional thought patterns to help support the underlying need in order to keep these looping thoughts from occurring at the intensity they have been at their source.
— Cherish Graff, Licensed Professional Counselor
Inference-based CBT has over 20 years of research and is an emerging model in the US. ICBT thinks about OCD differently than other therapy models in that it posits obsessions and the faulty reasoning process as what drives the OCD cycle. Intrusive thoughts are not random, they are constructed, which means you can learn to de-construct OCD. It is highly effective at treating OCD and is more of a cognitive model. You can read more about it here: https://icbt.online/what-is-icbt/
— Sarah Weber, Mental Health Counselor in Spokane, WAEvidence-based treatment for OCD
— Heather Beller, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Chicago, IL