No Talking, Just Writing! Efficacy of an Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Exposure and Response Prevention in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

摘要

Background; Many patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) do not receive first-line treatment according to the current guidelines (cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure and response prevention, CBT with ERP) due to barriers to treatment. Internet-based therapy is designed to overcome these barriers. The present study evaluates the efficacy of an Internet-based writing therapy with therapeutic interaction based on the concept of CBT with ERP for patients with OCD. Methods: Thirty-four volunteers with OCD according to DSM-IV-criteria were included in the trial and randomized according to a waiting-list control design with follow-up measures at 8 weeks and 6 months. The intervention consisted of 14 sessions, either starting directly after randomization or with an 8-week delay. Main outcome'mea-sure was the change in the severity of OCD symptoms (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Self-Rating, Y-BOCS SR, and Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, OCI-R).