Ahead of the Curve: Responses From Patients in Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to Coronavirus Disease 2019

Frontiers in Psychology
Jennie M KuckertzJason W Krompinger

Abstract

Alongside concern about the physical health impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, public health officials have also raised concerns about the potential for massive mental health impact. This has led many to wonder, how are individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and especially those with contamination fears, doing in the era of COVID-19? We present data from eight patients in our residential treatment program for OCD who were admitted prior to any COVID-19 restrictions and continued in treatment at the facility during the pandemic. Much like the general population, our patients varied in the ways they were impacted by COVID-19, yet the majority experienced improvements in OCD symptoms despite the context. This is not to downplay the many ways in which our patients were personally affected by COVID-19. Rather our patients' relatively resilient responses mirror our program's treatment model, which emphasizes exposure and response prevention (ERP) within the complementary framework of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). The intention of this article is to challenge the notion that by definition this population will fare worse than the general public or that ERP cannot proceed effectively dur...Continue Reading

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Citations

Apr 20, 2021·Current Psychology·Hannelore L N TandtGilbert M D Lemmens
May 8, 2021·Journal of Psychiatric Research·Leonardo F FontenelleMurat Yücel
May 10, 2021·Journal of Anxiety Disorders·Michael G WheatonThröstur Björgvinsson
Jul 25, 2021·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Wuqianhui LiuYuan He
Aug 5, 2021·Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic·Caitlin M PinciottiBradley C Riemann

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Software Mentioned

ACT
nlme
ggplot2
R

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