Standard cognitive therapy does not work well for OCD. However, inference-based CBT for OCD helps clients to realize that their thought process about the areas that obsess them follows a definite pattern. This is true even if they have very different ‘islands’ of obsessions. That thought process is very different from the process they use in other areas where they function more successfully.
IBT for OCD educates clients about their obsessive compulsive patterns and can be an excellent preparation for ERP.