Summary of an empirical review of ACT for the treatment of OCD (Journal of Anxiety Disorders)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
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Important points made in the study:

  • “Preliminary meta-analytic results show that ACT is equally effective as manualized treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy.”
  • “Currently, [as of this study from 2014] one case study, three multiple baseline studies, and one
    RCT examining the use of ACT for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) have been conducted. In the case study, two adults with OCD were treated using ACT and results indicated that there were 94% and 95% reductions in OCD symptoms (Y-BOCS) and significant increases in psychological flexibility (based on questions developed for this study) from pre- to post-treatment (Twohig, Whittal, Cox, & Gunter, 2010).”
  • “In a multiple baseline study, four individuals with OCD completed eight sessions of ACT without traditional exposure exercises (Twohig, Hayes, & Masuda, 2006b). Results indicated that all
    four participants evidenced reductions in the frequency of compulsions (92.7% reductions from pre- to post-treatment, 89.1% pre-treatment to follow-up)”.
  • “In another multiple baseline design, five adults with the scrupulosity subtype of OCD displayed a 74% reduction in compulsions from pre- to posttreatment and an 80% reduction from pre-treatment to the 3-month follow-up (Dehlin, Morrison, & Twohig, 2013).”
  • “In the first attempt to use ACT for adolescents with OCD, a drop in compulsions (40%
    at post-treatment; 44% at 3-month follow-up) and Child Y-BOCS scores (28% at post-treatment; 42% at follow-up) was evidenced in a multiple baseline design (Armstrong, Morrison, & Twohig, 2013)”.
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Thanks for sharing JonasEriksson. Yes, ACT is very effective in treating OCD.

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I can’t believe I couldn’t get the courage to try OCD therapy before. Almost a week after a combination of ACT and ERP made me way calmer than before. Hi Mack and thank you so much Jonas for sharing those study data.

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Hi @Joon :slight_smile:
Hope all is well with you!

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Hey Mack, I’ve been feeling great recently. Of course, I need to put certain effort for that but my life is totally different now, in a positive way. What about you?

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I am really glad to hear that you all have had positive experiences in life recently. I would add that you should get more sun outside or if not possible go to a sauna.

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Oh, please bring the sun back here if you can. :slightly_smiling_face: What keeps my mood good is swimming in the evening with my friend. Somehow the water washes out any negativity accumulated during the day.

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Definitely, the sun and nature helps a lot. I really like to go to my parents’ summer house which is quite isolated and do not use any electronic devices. Having a mental break from those is life-changing.

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I was out of town this weekend and didn’t use much electronics. Now I feel so recharged, and quite frankly, I haven’t noticed many issues with my OCD. I wish everybody here a successful upcoming week. I will drop by these days for sure to share more practical advice.

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I am so glad to hear that Sofie. I stopped using a smartphone a year ago and felt a great relief not only from my OCD but in general.

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I do this almost every weekend now. I ditch the phone and computer entirely or use them for a while when I really have to. Also, when I go running, I use my old mp3 device.

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I thought I was the only one who uses its old mp3. It makes me feel nostalgic about the old times and more peaceful at the same time.