A maintenance program for obsessive-compulsive disorder using exposure with response prevention: 2-year follow-up

Recent literature has emphasized the importance of instituting procedures for preventing relapse in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study presents data documenting the effect of a maintenance program on the long term (2-year) adjustment of a group of patients with OCD treated with exposure and response prevention. Results indicate that patients maintained their gains for the 2-year follow-up period on measures of anxiety associated with avoidance (Behavioral Avoidance Tests), obsessions, compulsions, and anxiety. Further, patients were able to effectively manage situations defined as lapses (limited symptom return) effectively without additional therapist intervention. However, as in a previous report, treatment gains for depression were not well established. It is concluded that sessions prior to treatment termination which focus on relapse prevention methods focus on additional psychological symptoms aside from the acute disturbance of OCD.