Exposure therapy in patients with harm-related obsessive-compulsive disorder: The theory-practice gap and its relation to experiential avoidance and negative beliefs about exposure

Abstract

Despite its efficacy and effectiveness, exposure with response prevention (ERP) is underused in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). As this underuse of ERP may apply particularly to harm-related OCD, we investigated the theory-practice gap as well as negative beliefs and experiential avoidance as potential reasons for the underutilization of ERP with this group in a sample of trainee and qualified therapists.We assessed 339 therapists’ general knowledge about ERP using a harm-related OCD case example and their utilization of ERP in clinical practice for harm-related OCD. Of the total sample, 74% of the therapists (n = 251) were CBT-oriented and 61% (n = 209) were in training. We assessed negative beliefs and experiential avoidance using the Therapist Beliefs about Exposure Scale (TBES) and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II).While 74% of the therapist recommended ERP for the case example, only 43% admitted to using ERP for harm-related OCD in their clinical practice. ERP affinity of therapists in theory and practice was related to fewer negative beliefs about ERP, with large effect size (ηp2 = 0.367 [CI95% 0.285 − 0.433]) and lower experiential avoidance with small effect size (ηp2 = 0.024 [CI95% < 0.001 − 0.059]) in the total sample.We found evidence of a theory-practice gap in the treatment of harm-related OCD in a sample of trainee and qualified therapists. To ensure that patients with harm-related OCD content receive the evidence-based treatment they need, negative beliefs about ERP may represent a potential target.