Behavioral Group Therapy with Obsessive-Compulsives: An Overview

During the last two decades, effective psychotherapeutic interventions have been developed and proven successful in treating patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Behavior therapy, using exposure to anxiety-evoking stimuli and response prevention directed toward rituals, provides lasting benefit for most patients who engage in and comply with treatment. A recent study indicated that, for certain OCD patients, these interventions could be applied successfully in a group therapy context. This article describes the general procedures used in this study to treat obsessive-compulsives with exposure and response prevention in a group context.