COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT OF OBSESSIVE THOUGHTS - A CONTROLLED-STUDY

Twenty-nine patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder as diagnosed i n accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diso rders (3rd ed., revised; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) who d id not have overt compulsive rituals were randomly assigned to treatme nt and waiting-list conditions. Patients in the treatment condition re ceived cognitive-behavioral therapy consisting of a detailed explanati on of the occurrence and maintenance of obsessive thoughts, exposure t o obsessive thoughts, response prevention of all neutralizing strategi es, cognitive restructuring, and relapse prevention. Compared with wai ting-list patients, treated patients improved significantly on measure s of severity of obsessions, current functioning, self-report obsessiv e-compulsive symptoms, and anxiety. When waiting-list patients were su bsequently treated, the combined group improved on all outcome measure s. Treatment gains were maintained at 6-month follow-up. Results indic ate that cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective in the treatment of patients with obsessive thoughts, a group that has often been conside red resistant to treatment.