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Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 3:201-216 (2003)
© 2003 Oxford University Press

Cognitive and Behavioral Methods for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

   Maureen L. Whittal, PhD
   Melanie L. O'Neill, PhD

From the University of British Columbia Hospital (Whittal) and the University of British Columbia (O'Neill).

Contact author: Anxiety Disorders Unit, UBC Hospital, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 2B5, Canada. E-mail: whittal{at}interchange.ubc.ca.

The psychological treatment of choice for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been behavioral in nature, that is, mainly exposure and response prevention (ERP). Recent advances and interest in cognitive therapy, largely spurred by the theoretical paper of Salkovskis in 1985, led to the development of cognitively focused approaches for the treatment of OCD. Although ERP has strong empirical support for its efficacy, cognitive interventions are receiving mounting evidence. Combining cognitive and behavioral techniques to match with a patient's unique symptom presentation may help maximize treatment outcomes and patient satisfaction. The purpose of this article is to introduce the cognitive-behavioral theory, assessment, and treatment strategies for OCD, and to illustrate their use in the case of an individual with compulsive checking behaviors. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 3:201–215 (2003)]

KEY WORDS: obsessive-compulsive disorder, cognitive treatment, exposure and response prevention






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