Remote treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common anxiety disorder. Although effective treatments exist many patients experience difficulties accessing treatment. Treatments that are delivered remotely, such as bibliotherapy-administered CBT (bCBT) and internet-administered CBT (iCBT) have the potential to improve access to treatment. This study was a three group randomized controlled trial that aimed to examine the benefits and acceptability of these two remote treatment options in the treatment of OCD, compared to a waitlist control group. Participants in the bCBT and iCBT groups read five lessons and received twice-weekly contact from a remote therapist. The control group did not receive any clinical contact during this time. The results indicated that participants in both remote treatment conditions (bCBT and iCBT) improved from pre-treatment to post-treatment and pre-treatment to 3-month follow-up on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Once the bCBT and iCBT groups completed treatment, the control group was provided the iCBT protocol but with clinician contact only once per week. Results from the control group, after receiving iCBT treatment, indicated that large effect sizes can be obtained with weekly contact. These results provide preliminary support for the use of either bCBT or iCBT in the remote treatment of OCD.