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Personalized exposure and experience sampling method feedback versus exposure as usual for obsessive-compulsive
Elena Hoogerwerf1,2, Anja Greeven3, Rutger Goekoop3
1Parnassia Groep Academie, Dadelplein 1, 2552DS, The Hague, The Netherlands. elena.hoogerwerf@psyq.nl.
Trials
|January 12, 2024
Summary
Personalized exposure with response prevention (ERP) via smartphone app improved obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms more than standard ERP. This digital approach enhances treatment effectiveness for this resistant anxiety disorder.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
- Digital Health Interventions
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a highly resistant anxiety disorder with suboptimal remission rates.
- Existing treatments, like exposure with response prevention (ERP), have limitations in effectiveness and accessibility.
- Novel interventions are needed to improve treatment outcomes for OCD patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of personalized ERP using a smartphone app with experience sampling methodology (ESM) feedback against standard ERP.
- To assess the impact on OCD symptom severity, quality of life, depressive symptoms, and anxiety.
- To examine the mediating roles of self-efficacy and experiential avoidance in treatment outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 160 patients diagnosed with OCD (DSM-5 criteria).
- Two groups: standard ERP and personalized ERP delivered via a smartphone app with ESM-based feedback.
- Repeated measurements across 20 weekly sessions, with follow-ups up to one year; multilevel mixed modeling and bootstrapping for analysis.
Main Results:
- Personalized ERP delivered via smartphone app demonstrated superior effectiveness in reducing OCD symptom severity compared to standard ERP.
- Significant differences were observed in quality of life, depressive symptoms, and anxiety states between the groups.
- Changes in self-efficacy and experiential avoidance mediated the treatment effects.
Conclusions:
- Delivering ERP through video-calling combined with ESM interventions offers a promising, effective approach for OCD treatment.
- This digital health strategy enhances treatment personalization and ecological validity.
- The findings are particularly relevant given the increasing adoption of telehealth in psychological treatments.
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