Assesses clinician adherence to ERP principles when responding to OCD clients seeking reassurance, suggesting a need for better training.
Background: Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is the gold standard psychological treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This study assessed if participants' response to a client with OCD, who is seeking reassurance, would follow ERP principles. Methods: 2,550 American Psychological Association members were randomized to one of three OCD vignettes: contamination, sexual, and harm. Participants selected how they would respond to a client with OCD who was seeking reassurance. Results: 499 participants completed the survey. Across the vignettes, participants (1) were least likely to select the ERP response (harm: 3.0%; sexual: 3.1%; contamination: 7.1%), (2) rated the ERP response as Very Non-Therapeutic or Non-Therapeutic (sexual: 89.6%; harm: 82.7%; contamination: 58.9%), and (3) did not agree that the ERP response (e.g., “You may have stabbed someone”) was reflective of the theory and practice of ERP. Conclusions: Greater training and education regarding ERP for OCD among mental health professionals is needed.
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Volpacchio et al. (2026) studied this question.
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