Five-day intensive treatment for adolescent OCD: a case series

Abstract

This case series describes the use of an intensive 5-day treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with three adolescents. The treatment is based on traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy consisting primarily of exposures and response prevention (ERP) and involves 10 sessions over 5 days. In addition, the treatment emphasizes instructing the adolescent and the parents on how to conduct ERP at home following the completion of the 5 days of therapy. The treatment is designed for adolescents who do not have local access to mental health practitioners with expertise in ERP for OCD. The three patients who participated in the experimental program each experienced substantial improvements in their OCD symptoms and overall functioning. The present study suggests that brief, 5-day intensive treatment may be an effective means of delivering CBT for adolescents with OCD and may be of use to mental health practitioners who provide services to large catchments.