title: Brief strategic therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a clinical and research protocol of a one-group observational study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling psychopathology. The mainstay of treatment includes cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and medication management. However, individual suffering, functional impairments as well as the direct and indirect costs associated with the disease remain substantial. New treatment programmes are necessary and the brief strategic therapy (BST) has recently shown encouraging results in clinical practice but no quantitative study has as yet been conducted.
  
  
  METHODS
  The clinical effectiveness of the OCD-specific BST protocol will be evaluated in a one-group observational study. Participants will be sequentially recruited from a state community psychotherapy clinic in Dublin, Ireland. Outcome measures will be the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Data will be collected at baseline, at treatment termination and at 3 month follow-up. The statistical significance of the post-treatment effect will be assessed by the paired-sample Student t test, while clinical significance will be evaluated by means of the equivalence testing method, which will be also used to assess the maintenance of effect at follow-up.
  The present study is approved by the Hesed House Ethics Board in Dublin. Findings will enhance the evidence-based knowledge about the clinical effectiveness of BST in treating OCD symptoms, prior to assessing its efficacy in a randomised and controlled clinical trial, and will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Research Laboratory, Ospedale San Giuseppe, IRCCS, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Oggebbio (VCO), Italy Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giada
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pietrabissa
authors.affiliation: Psychology Research Laboratory, Ospedale San Giuseppe, IRCCS, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Oggebbio (VCO), Italy Faculty of Psychology, eCampus University, Novedrate, Como, Italy.
authors.forename: Gian Mauro
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Manzoni
authors.affiliation: Bateson Clinic, Dublin, Ireland Dublin City University, Ireland The OCD Clinic Dublin, Ireland Strategic Therapy Center, Arezzo, Italy Hesed House, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Padraic
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.affiliation: Hesed House, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boardman
authors.affiliation: Department of Education and Psychology, University of Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gori
authors.affiliation: Psychology Research Laboratory, Ospedale San Giuseppe, IRCCS, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Oggebbio (VCO), Italy Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Castelnuovo
mesh_terms: D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012107:Research Design