Moderators and processes of change in traditional exposure and response prevention (ERP) versus acceptance and commitment therapy-informed ERP for obsessive-compulsive disorder

We examined (a) moderation effects of anxiety, depression, psychological inflexibility, and interpretation of intrusions and (b) the role of psychological inflexibility and interpretation of intrusions respectively as processes of change. Participants with less dysfunctional appraisals at pretreatment performed consistently better in ERP relative to ACT + ERP. In process analyses, psychological inflexibility and interpretation of intrusions positively influenced OCD severity over time in both conditions but OCD symptom severity also positively influenced psychological inflexibility and interpretation of intrusions in both conditions. Furthermore, whereas OCD symptom severity strongly and positively predicted dysfunctional appraisals over the course of treatment in ERP, symptom severity had a weaker positive effect on dysfunctional appraisals in ACT + ERP. Clinical and theoretical implications as well as study limitations are discussed.
Source: Journal of Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research