Baseline characteristics and treatment outcomes for people accessing a virtual partial hospital program versus a residential program for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is the first-line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). While previous literature supports the effectiveness of higher levels of specialized ERP-based care for OCD (i.e., partial hospital, residential), little is known about how outcomes for these levels of care compare to each other, or who is accessing different levels of specialized care. The present study compared treatment outcomes and baseline demographic, clinical, and prior treatment characteristics between adults with OCD or a related disorder accessing a virtual partial hospital program (VPHP; n = 63) or a residential (n = 128) program. Analyses revealed no significant clinical differences between the programs at either baseline or across treatment. Programs significantly differed on whether patients had children or not. Findings suggest that both VPHP and residential treatment for OCD are effective forms of care, and future research should consider how demographic factors may influence treatment access and preferences.