title: Recent advances in the behavioral treatment of obsessive-compulsives.
abstract: The last decade has witnessed remarkable progress in the treatment of obsessive-compulsives, with the introduction of response prevention and deliberate exposure to feared situations in vivo and in imagination. In a series of studies, the effects of the single components of this program were investigated. The results suggest that the optimal treatment includes a combination of all three procedures. It appears that in vivo exposure mainly affects anxiety/discomfort associated with cues for ritualizing; response prevention affects primarily compulsive behavior; and imaginal exposure assists in maintenance of treatment gains, perhaps through its impact on fears of future catastrophes associated with obsessions.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D007171:Implosive Therapy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care