Cognitive Behavioral Group Treatment for Obsessive-compulsive Disorder in Youth

Summary

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating disorder characterized by unwanted intrusive thoughts and disrupting repetitive rituals. Epidemiological studies estimate the prevalence of impairing OCD to be between 0.5-3.0 % in pediatric populations. Although OCD in youth is associated with substantial distress and functional impairment, access to evidence-based psychosocial treatments is limited. This is largely due to the fact that few clinicians are trained in the delivery of evidence-based treatments, such as exposure-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Therefore it is of great importance to develop treatment programs that utilize therapist resources in the most efficient way.

Exposure-based CBT delivered in the context of a group, rather than individually, is one such option. However, there are currently no evidence-based group OCD treatment manuals for youth available to clinicians in Denmark. Therefore this project addresses an important clinical need. We evaluate a group-based CBT protocol for the treatment of youth with OCD, benchmarking treatment outcomes against data from a previous trial evaluating individual-based CBT and by comparing outcomes against a short waiting list period. Further, we will explore the impact of group-based CBT over a 36-month open follow-up interval on general functioning, relapse, recurrence rates, and the need for other treatments. Finally, a brief youth questionnaire assessing overall symptom severity relevant for the evaluation of outcomes in pediatric OCD will be translated and validated for future clinical and research use in Denmark.

The project will include 72 adolescents with a primary diagnosis of OCD referred for assessment and treatment at the OCD Clinic at Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Aarhus University Hospital, Psychiatry, Denmark. For benchmarking of treatment outcomes, the project will compare the results from the group-based CBT with data from 45 Danish patients previously enrolled in the individual-based CBT of the Nordic Long Term OCD Treatment Study at the same clinic.

Conditions

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Adolescent

Interventions

OTHER

Cognitive behavioral therapy

The G-CBT manual for adolescents has been developed in the OCD-clinic in Aarhus and pilot tested in Aarhus. The G-CBT manual is based on the NordLOTS I-CBT manual in overall content and structure, with a few additional elements added with inspiration from previous individual and group CBT literature as well as the author's ideas. The main therapeutic ingredient is exposure and response prevention. The manual is made up of three individual family sessions, 13 weekly adolescent group sessions, three parent group sessions and two adolescent group booster sessions.The manual contains detailed guiding of therapists for each session and a comprehensive collection of working sheets for the adolescents to be used during sessions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Jascha Fonden

  collaborator OTHER

• Region midtjyllands sundhedsvidenskabelige forskningsfond

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Sygekassernes Helsefond

  collaborator OTHER

• Region Midtjyllands Psykiatriske Forskningsfond

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Aarhus University Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Katja A Hybel, PhD · Aarhus University Hospital, Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

13 Years

Max Age

17 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-08-15

Primary Completion

2025-06-30

Completion

2025-06-30

Countries

• Denmark

Study Locations