Mechanisms of exposure and response prevention in obsessive-compulsive disorder: effects of habituation and expectancy violation on short-term outcome in cognitive behavioral therapy.

Background: Exposure and response prevention is effective and recommended as the first choice for treating obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). Its mechanisms of action are rarely studied, but two major theories make distinct assumptions: while the emotional processing theory assumes that treatment effects are associated with habituation within and between exposure sessions, the inhibitory learning approach highlights the acquisition of additional associations, implying alternative mechanisms like expectancy violation. The present study aimed to investigate whether process variables derived from both theories predict short-term outcome.

Effectiveness of Individual Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Predictors of Outcome in Adult Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Introduction: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has proven its efficacy in randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Objective: To test generalizability to routine care settings, we conducted an effectiveness study to provide naturalistic outcome data and their predictors.

Methods: Pre-post changes in symptoms and impairment as well as response rates were determined in a naturalistic OCD sample (intention-to-treat, ITT, n = 393).

Identifying CBT non-response among OCD outpatients: A machine-learning approach.

Machine learning models predicting treatment outcomes for individual patients may yield high clinical utility. However, few studies tested the utility of easy to acquire and low-cost sociodemographic and clinical data. In previous work, we reported significant predictions still insufficient for immediate clinical use in a sample with broad diagnostic spectrum.

Long-Term Stability of Benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Depends on Symptom Remission During Treatment.

Background: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and may afford stable long-term improvements. It is not clear, however, how stability or symptom recurrence can be predicted at the time of termination of CBT.

Method: In a 1-year follow-up intention-to-treat study with 120 OCD patients receiving individual CBT at a university outpatient unit, we investigated the predictive value of international consensus criteria for response only (Y-BOCS score reduction by at least 35%) and remission status (Y-BOCS score ≤ 12).