Reasons for seeking internet-delivered treatment for individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) face multiple barriers when accessing treatment and rarely receive best-practice cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) when they seek help. Remote treatments, such as internet-delivered CBT (ICBT), enhance access to evidence-based treatments. To date, no known studies have examined the reasons individuals seek remote treatment over traditional in-person treatment for OCD. Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine the treatment histories of individuals who completed ICBT for OCD and their reasons for seeking ICBT.

One hundred and sixty-six participants (M_age = 33.88; SD = 13.41, 71.7% female) were included in the study.

Almost three-quarters of the sample had previously spoken to a health professional about their OCD symptoms. General practitioners were the most frequently consulted health professionals initially (41.7%), while psychologists were the most frequently consulted overall (81.7%). Supportive counselling (74.2%) and medication (72.5%) were the most common forms of treatment ever received. Of those who had received CBT for OCD, only 20.0% (12.5% of the overall sample) likely received best-practice CBT. The most frequently endorsed reasons for seeking ICBT over in-person treatment related to having no access to face-to-face treatment in the community (25.9%) and having found previous face-to-face treatment unhelpful (24.1%). Group differences in reasons for seeking ICBT over face-to-face treatment emerged based on geographical location, OCD severity and presence of comorbid depressive symptoms.

Evidence-based treatment for OCD is underutilized in the community highlighting the need to develop and disseminate evidence-based remote treatments for OCD.