Specialised in-patient treatment for severe, chronic, resistant obsessive–compulsive disorder

Aims and Method A naturalistic study was conducted to examine the outcome on self-report and observer-rated measures in patients with severe, chronic, resistant obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) admitted to a specialised in-patient unit. Results Twenty-six patients were admitted over the study period. The mean age of all patients was 37 years (s.d.=13.8, range 18–61 years) and they had a mean duration of OCD of 18.4 years (s.d.=10.9, range 4–40 years). Instruments measuring severity demonstrated a 37–67% reduction in obsessive–compulsive symptoms and a 64% reduction in depressive symptoms after an average of almost 15 weeks in hospital. Clinical Implications This study demonstrates that specialised in-patient care can benefit a small group of severely ill patients with OCD who fail to respond to treatment in primary and secondary care.