Office-based vs home-based behavioral treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a preliminary study

Area of Science:

• Clinical Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Behavioral Therapy

Background:

• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating mental health condition.
• Exposure with response prevention (ERP) is a leading treatment for OCD.
• The optimal setting for ERP delivery remains an area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of ERP for OCD delivered in a therapist's office versus in naturalistic settings.
• To determine if treatment location influences outcomes for OCD patients.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-eight OCD outpatients were randomly assigned to receive 14 sessions of ERP.
• Treatment was delivered either in a therapist's office or in environments where OCD symptoms typically manifest.
• Assessments included self-report and clinician-rated measures of OCD severity, depression, and functional impairment at pretreatment, post-treatment, and 3- and 6-month follow-ups.

Main Results:

• Participants demonstrated significant improvement in OCD symptoms irrespective of the treatment setting.
• No statistically significant differences in treatment efficacy were found between home-based ERP and office-based ERP.
• Improvements were sustained at 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments.

Conclusions:

• ERP is an effective treatment for OCD, regardless of whether it is administered in a clinical setting or in the patient's natural environment.
• These findings support the flexibility of ERP delivery for OCD treatment.
• Future research could explore patient preference and specific symptom contexts for optimal treatment setting selection.