Posts Tagged ‘children’

Family Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is Effective for Youth With OCD

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

newstudy-graphic-66x60.jpgA recent open trial conducted by researchers at the University of South Florida tested the effect of family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on children and adolescents with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The participants were 30 youth (7-19 years old), half boys and half girls, who were partial or nonresponders to two or more medication trials. Each patient received 14 sessions of intensive family-based CBT.

At post-treatment and 3-month follow-up, 80% of participants had improved. Symptom severity was reduced by 54%. Over 50% were classified as being in remission at the end of treatment, and at the 3-month follow-up. While there was no notable difference in self-reported anxiety, researchers observed significant reductions in OCD-related impairment, depressive symptoms, behavioral problems, and family accommodation.

To read the entire article, click here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20390817

CBT and CBT Plus Medication for the Treatment of OCD in Children

Monday, November 9th, 2009

NewStudy-Graphic-72x72_edited-3 A recent study published in Child and Adolescent Mental Health found both Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and CBT in combination with medication to be effective in the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in children. During a ten-year period, 75 children were evaluated and treated for OCD in an outpatient setting. Investigators later contacted a subset of that sample to investigate the long-term maintenance of their therapeutic gains. Treatment groups in this follow up investigation included, (1) those treated with medication before beginning CBT, (2) those treated with CBT only, and (3) those treated with CBT and medication, simultaneously. Participants in each group had all met diagnostic criteria for OCD as determined by their Children’s Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CYBOCS) scores. Long term maintenance was assessed by comparing post-treatment and pre-treatment CYBOCS scores. Results showed significant improvement for each group, yielding further support for the use of CBT and CBT plus medication (SSRIs) in the treatment of OCD.

Reference
Nakatani, E. (2009). Outcomes of cognitive behaviour therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder in a clinical setting: A 10-year experience from a specialist OCD service for children and adolescents. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 14, 133-139.