Group versus individual cognitive treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder: Changes in severity at post-treatment and one-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND

Very few studies have compared the efficacy of individual and group cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) by taking into consideration the change in OCD severity in both the short and long term.

AIMS

To conduct an open trial of individual versus group CBT for OCD, comparing the clinical and statistically significant changes in severity both at post-treatment and one year later.

METHOD

Forty-two OCD subjects were assigned to individual (n = 18) or group CBT (n = 24, in four groups). Sixteen and 22 subjects completed the treatment in the individual and group conditions, respectively. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale was recorded at pre-treatment, post-treatment and at the one-year follow-up.

RESULTS

At the end of treatment, the clinically significant change was comparable for the two treatment conditions and remained stable at the one-year follow-up. Of the 16 participants who completed the individual CBT treatment, 68.75% were classified as recovered at post-treatment, compared to 40.9% of those receiving group CBT. At follow-up the rate of recovery decreased to 62.5% in individual CBT and to 31.8% in group CBT.

CONCLUSIONS

Group CBT is effective in decreasing OCD severity. The post-treatment changes were maintained one year later. Nevertheless, these changes were higher in the individual delivery of CBT.