A concentrated approach for treating OCD: a pilot study examining the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the Bergen Four Day Treatment in the U.S.

The Bergen Four Day Treatment (B4DT) is a concentrated treatment for OCD that has demonstrated promising effectiveness in Nordic country samples. The B4DT is delivered over four days and provides individual treatment in a group context. The effectiveness of the B4DT for OCD has not been tested outside Nordic countries.

The effects of safety behavior availability versus utilization on inhibitory learning during exposure.

This study re-analyzes data from Sy and colleagues (2011; , 305-314) comparing safety behavior availability (SBA) to safety behavior utilization (SBU) during exposure therapy for claustrophobic concerns. The present investigation assessed differential rates of inhibitory learning (i.e.

Do alexithymic individuals avoid their feelings? Experiential avoidance mediates the association between alexithymia, psychosomatic, and depressive symptoms in a community and a clinical sample.

Objective: Alexithymia is defined as the trait associated with difficulty in identifying and describing feelings as well as poor fantasy and imagery. While alexithymia is related to psychopathology in general, it has been associated with increased reporting of medically unexplained symptoms and depression in particular. This study attempts to assess the extent to which alexithymia represents a learned, avoidant coping strategy against unwanted emotions.

Maximizing the efficacy of interoceptive exposure by optimizing inhibitory learning: a randomized controlled trial.

Cognitive-behavioral treatments for panic disorder (PD) emphasize interoceptive exposure (IE) to target anxiety sensitivity (AS) but vary considerably in its manner of delivery. This randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of the low-dose delivery of IE exercises often prescribed in treatment protocols to an intensive form of IE hypothesized to optimize inhibitory learning. Participants (N = 120) with elevated AS were randomly assigned to one of four single-session interventions: (a) low-dose IE as prescribed in Barlow and Craske's Panic Control Treatment, (b) low-dose IE without controlled breathing or a lengthy between-trial rest period, (c) intensive IE, or (d) expressive writing control.

Assessing therapist reservations about exposure therapy for anxiety disorders: the Therapist Beliefs about Exposure Scale.

Exposure therapy is underutilized in the treatment of pathological anxiety and is often delivered in a suboptimal manner. Negative beliefs about exposure appear common among therapists and may pose a barrier to its dissemination. To permit reliable and valid assessment of such beliefs, we constructed the 21-item Therapist Beliefs about Exposure Scale (TBES) and examined its reliability and validity in three samples of practicing clinicians.

Do negative beliefs about exposure therapy cause its suboptimal delivery? An experimental investigation.

Despite its effectiveness, exposure therapy is underutilized and frequently implemented in suboptimal fashion. Research has shown negative beliefs about exposure are related to its underutilization, and these beliefs are held by exposure therapists and may play a causal role in its suboptimal delivery. This study examined the effect of negative beliefs about exposure on treatment delivery.

A Comparison of Cognitive and Behavioral Approaches for Reducing Cost Bias in Social Anxiety.

Cognitive-behavioral theories suggest that anxiety is maintained in part by estimates of the probability and cost of feared negative outcomes. Social phobia may be unique among the anxiety disorders in that it is characterized by overestimates of the cost of events that are objectively noncatastrophic (e.g.

Failure to replicate the deleterious effects of safety behaviors in exposure therapy.

The current study attempted to replicate the finding obtained by Powers, Smits, and Telch (2004; Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72, 448-545) that both the availability and utilization of safety behaviors interfere with the efficacy of exposure therapy. An additional goal of the study was to evaluate which explanatory theories about the detrimental effects of safety behaviors best account for this phenomenon. Undergraduate students (N=58) with high claustrophobic fear were assigned to one of three treatment conditions: (a) exposure only, (b) exposure with safety behavior availability, and (c) exposure with safety behavior utilization.

A randomized trial of three psychosocial treatments for the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To assess and compare the benefits of 3 psychosocial treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: RA patients were randomized to cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), relaxation response training (RR), or arthritis education (AE). All treatment was conducted in groups.

Targeting the probability versus cost of feared outcomes in public speaking anxiety.

Cognitive-behavioral theory suggests that social phobia is maintained, in part, by overestimates of the probability and cost of negative social events. Indeed, empirically supported cognitive-behavioral treatments directly target these cognitive biases through the use of in vivo exposure or behavioral experiments. While cognitive-behavioral theories and treatment protocols emphasize the importance of targeting probability and cost biases in the reduction of social anxiety, few studies have examined specific techniques for reducing probability and cost bias, and thus the relative efficacy of exposure to the probability versus cost of negative social events is unknown.

Does the judicious use of safety behaviors improve the efficacy and acceptability of exposure therapy for claustrophobic fear?

Exposure therapy is traditionally conducted with an emphasis on the elimination of safety behaviors. However, theorists have recently suggested that the judicious use of safety behaviors may improve the tolerability of this treatment without reducing its efficacy. The present study tested this notion by randomly assigning participants with high claustrophobic fear to receive a single-session intervention with or without access to safety aids during early exposure trials.