Brief intensive cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents with OCD: Two international pilot studies

Introduction: This article presents two international pilot studies examining brief intensive group cognitive behavioral therapy (BIG-CBT) for pediatric OCD. 

Aims: 1) to examine treatment outcome of BIG-CBT in two countries, 2) to explore the influence of potential predictors on treatment outcome. 

Methods: Study 1 (n = 59) was a retrospective study executed in the Netherlands, study 2 (n = 17) was a prospective study performed in Switzerland (total: 76 participants). The pilot studies were carried out in academic centers for child and adolescent psychiatry. BIG-CBT consisted of 5-day CBT in a group format, with exposure and response prevention as the main element. 

Results: Both studies showed a significant decrease from pre-to post-treatment on the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale mean scores. In study 1, 44% of participants met the criterion for treatment responder at post-treatment (≥35% improvement), in study 2 this was 59% at post-treatment and 41% at 3-month-follow-up. In both studies, age, gender and baseline OCD severity did not significantly predict treatment outcome. 

Conclusion: The results of these two international pilots of BIG-CBT indicate that brief, intensive treatment has the potential to become a valuable addition to standard clinical care for pediatric OCD.