An open clinical trial of cognitive-behaviour therapy in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder administered in regular outpatient clinics.
The aim of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of manual-guided cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) for childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) administered within three regular, i.e., non-academic, Norwegian outpatient child psychiatric clinics.


METHODS
A total of 28 youngsters, aged 8-17 with primary OCD entered the study. Assessment at intake included Norwegian versions of the K-SADS-PL, Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS), and a measure of OCD-specific functional impairment (Child OCD Impact Scale (COIS)). Therapy consisted of 12 manual-guided sessions with combined individual and family CBT-based interventions and was conducted by psychologists and physicians under training and supervision. Outcome was assessed after treatment and at 3- and 6-month follow-ups by means of the CY-BOCS, the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and the CGI-Improvement scales, and the COIS.


RESULTS
Twenty-four youngsters (86%) completed treatment and were available for the follow-up assessments. Significant improvements were found on all outcome measures after treatment, including a mean symptom reduction on the CY-BOCS of 60.6%, increasing to 68.8% at the 6-month follow-up. Estimates of within-group effect sizes showed strong effects of treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the present study suggest that manual-guided CBT for childhood OCD can be successfully implemented in non-academic community child psychiatric settings with outcomes in accordance with previous findings from highly specialised university clinics.
Valderhaug
Robert
R
Department of Neuroscience, Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, MTFS, 7489 Trondheim, Norway. robert.valderhaug@ntnu.no
Larsson
Bo
B
Götestam
K Gunnar
KG
Piacentini
John
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008370:Manuals as Topic; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D002666:Psychology, Child; D016896:Treatment Outcome