With a little help from my friends: Changes in symptoms, cognitions and self-ambivalence after a group based cognitive-behavioral treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a debilitating illness affecting 2% of the population. Psychological treatments consisting of exposure and response prevention (ERP) and cognitive behavioral based methods are efficacious for most individuals with OCD and have been found to yield long-term positive outcomes. Most research on such outcomes have focused on individual treatment and the outcomes associated with group-based treatments are less well established. Further, the mechanisms that account for outcomes of individual and group based treatments for OCD remain unclear. Cognitive theories suggest that changes in cognitive structures including self-related beliefs may account for treatment related changes, yet limited research has empirically examined such suggestions. This study examined the outcomes of a low-intensity 10-session group CBT program for OCD in real-world effectiveness. The final sample consisted of 78 participants (M = 34.9 years, 50% Males), who answered symptom and cognition measures following each session. Overall, using hierarchical linear modelling, it was found that the program was effective in reducing symptoms (modelled fall of 7.64 on the YBOCS). In addition, both OCD-relevant beliefs and self-ambivalence also reduced significantly, and both significantly related to symptom level. Implications are discussed.