Imagery Rescripting on Guilt-Inducing Memories in OCD: A Single Case Series Study

Frontiers in Psychiatry
Katia TenoreFrancesco Mancini

Abstract

Criticism is thought to play an important role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and obsessive behaviors have been considered as childhood strategies to avoid criticism. Often, patients with OCD report memories characterized by guilt-inducing reproaches. Starting from these assumptions, the aim of this study is to test whether intervening in memories of guilt-inducing reproaches can reduce current OCD symptoms. The emotional valence of painful memories may be modified through imagery rescripting (ImRs), an experiential technique that has shown promising results. After monitoring a baseline of symptoms, 18 OCD patients underwent three sessions of ImRs, followed by monitoring for up to 3 months. Indexes of OCD, depression, anxiety, disgust, and fear of guilt were collected. Patients reported a significant decrease in OCD symptoms. The mean value on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) changed from 25.94 to 14.11. At the 3-month follow-up, 14 of the 18 participants (77.7%) achieved an improvement of ≥35% on the Y-BOCS. Thirteen patients reported a reliable improvement, with ten reporting a clinically significant change (reliable change index = 9.94). Four reached the asymptomatic criterion. Clinically significa...Continue Reading

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Citations

Mar 17, 2021·Current Psychiatry Reports·Georgie PaulikPeter McEvoy
Jul 10, 2021·Frontiers in Psychology·Francesco Mancini, Amelia Gangemi

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Software Mentioned

lme4
RStudio
GPower
R
ImRs
Statistical Package for Social Science ( SPSS

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