Residential treatment outcomes for adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder

• Published in: Psychotherapy research Vol. 26; no. 6; pp. 727 - 736
• Main Authors: Leonard, Rachel C., Franklin, Martin E., Wetterneck, Chad T., Riemann, Bradley C., Simpson, H. Blair, Kinnear, Kimberly, Cahill, Shawn P., Lake, Peter M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Routledge 01.11.2016; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adolescent; ansia; anxiety; Behavior Therapy - methods; Clinical outcomes; Cognition & reasoning; cognitive behavior therapy; exposure therapy; Female; Humans; Implosive Therapy - methods; Male; Neuroses; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - therapy; OCD; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) - methods; Residential Treatment - methods; Teenagers; terapia cognitivo-comportamentale; terapia di esposizione; Zwangsstörung; Expositionstherapie; kognitive Verhaltenstherapie; Angststörung; 強迫疾患; 暴露治療; 認知行為治療; OCD; anxiety; exposure therapy; cognitive behavior therapy
• ISSN: 1050-3307; 1468-4381
• DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2015.1065022

Objective: We examined outcomes from a residential treatment program emphasizing exposure and response prevention (ERP) to determine if the typically robust response to this treatment in outpatient settings extends to patients treated in this unique context. Method: One hundred and seventy-two adolescents with primary Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) completed measures at admission and discharge. Almost all (92.4%) participants had at least two diagnoses and nearly half (44.2%) had three or more. Treatment consisted of intensive ERP (i.e., approximately 26.5 hr per week), additional cognitive behavioral therapy interventions, and medication management within a residential setting. In contrast to the samples reported on in the vast majority of other pediatric OCD trials, participants in the current study were living apart from their families and were immersed within the treatment setting, with staff members available at all times. Results: Paired sample t-tests revealed significant decreases in OCD and depression severity. Conclusions: Results suggest that residential treatment for adolescents with OCD using a multimodal approach emphasizing ERP can be effective for complex cases with significant comorbidity. Results were comparable with several randomized controlled trials.