Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): An outcome study. Does treatment in an outpatient setting using cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) and exposure/response prevention therapy (ERP) reduce symptoms of OCD?

摘要

The initial research question to be answered by this study was, Does treatment for individuals diagnosed with OCD work in an outpatient setting using cognitive-behavior group therapy (CBGT) and exposure response prevention therapy (ERP). This retrospective field study was done in two phases: Phase I was the treatment condition completed in an outpatient setting at a private psychiatric hospital in the Midwest over a variable period of time (6 weeks to 24 weeks) using individualized treatment plans. Phase II was the data analysis of archival information. All participants (n = 21) were on medications as part of the treatment regime. The only exclusionary criterion used was age—no patients under 20 were included in this study. Mean age was 36.10 years ( SD 5.37). A second research question for this study was undertaken to determine if the severity of OCD symptoms would be reduced by 60% or more upon discharge from the program. A third research question was to determine if the severity of the OCD symptoms would be decreased sufficiently for the participant to move to the next lower severity category. The instrument of measure was the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOCS). Participants were administered the YBOCS at time of admission and upon discharge from the program. Pre-post scores were compared. All patients showed some improvement. The findings were that 20 of 21 patients (95.28%) improved by at least one category. Mean pretreatment scores were 32; posttreatment Mean = 15. Mean percentage change scores were 54.41%. The results showed that the intervention had positive results for the majority of those entering treatment (62%) with an extreme score (32–40 based on YBOCS severity categories). Furthermore, 28% of the participants had a pretreatment severe score (24–31 based on the YBOCS severity categories). This study has vast ramifications for the treatment of individuals with pretreatment YBOCS scores greater than 24. Limitations of the study should be carefully reviewed before the results can be generalized. A replication of this study is recommended.