0000000000328284
AUTHOR
Elena Cabedo
Efficacy of a mental health app intervention on family members of OCD patients
INTRODUCION. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has a high cost for families, who frequently take part in compulsions, reassure patients, assume part of their responsibilities, try to conceal the disorder, and show stigmatizing attitudes (Ociskova et al., 2013; Stengler-Wenzke et al., 2004). esTOCma is a gamified mental health mobile application (app) that offers information about OCD, suggests where to find help, and helps fight stigmatizing attitudes. The objective of this study is to test esTOCma efficacy in a sample of OCD family members. Specifically, we will analyze if, after using the app, there is a change in the following variables: mental health literacy about OCD, stigma and soc…
Dysfunctional belief domains related to obsessive-compulsive disorder: a further examination of their dimensionality and specificity
International consensus has been achieved on the existence of several dysfunctional beliefs underlying the development and/or maintenance of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Nevertheless, questions such as the dimensionality of the belief domains and the existence of OCD-specific dysfunctional beliefs still remain inconclusive. The present paper addresses these topics through two different studies. Study 1: A series of confirmatory factor analyses (N= 573 non-clinical subjects) were carried out on the Obsessive Beliefs Spanish Inventory-Revised (OBSI-R), designed to assess dysfunctional beliefs hypothetically related to OCD. An eight-factor model emerged as the best factorial soluti…
The Spanish version of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R): Reliability, validity, diagnostic accuracy, and sensitivity to treatment effects in clinical samples
Abstract This study examines the psychometric properties of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) in Spanish and Argentinean samples. 90 OCD patients, 31 with non-OCD anxiety disorders and 84 non-clinical individuals completed the Spanish version of the OCI-R along with other OCD, depression, anxiety, and OCD-related cognition measures. The OCI-R showed significant associations with both OCD severity and other OCD symptom measures, beyond the relationships with depression, anxiety, and worry. The questionnaire also differentiated OCD from other anxiety disorders, except on the ordering and hoarding subscales. The relationships between the OCI-R subscales and dysfunctional belie…
Discovering what is hidden: The role of non-ritualized covert neutralizing strategies in Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder
Abstract Background and objectives Neutralizing strategies are secondary to obsessions and an additional cause of distress and interference, but they have received little attention in theories and research, especially the non-ritualized covert strategies. This study focuses on the comparative impact of non-ritualized covert and compulsive-overt strategies in the course of OCD. Methods Eighty-two OCD adult patients completed measures assessing distress, interference, appraisals and overt and covert neutralizing strategies to control obsessions. Thirty-eight patients who had completed cognitive therapy were assessed again after treatment. Results Only overt compulsions are associated with OCD…
Group Versus Individual Cognitive Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Changes in Severity at Post-Treatment and One-Year Follow-up
Background: Very few studies have compared the efficacy of individual and group cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) by taking into consideration the change in OCD severity in both the short and long term. Aims: To conduct an open trial of individual versus group CBT for OCD, comparing the clinical and statistically significant changes in severity both at post-treatment and one year later. Method: Forty-two OCD subjects were assigned to individual (n = 18) or group CBT (n = 24, in four groups). Sixteen and 22 subjects completed the treatment in the individual and group conditions, respectively. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale w…
Cognitive therapy for autogenous and reactive obsessions: Clinical and cognitive outcomes at post-treatment and 1-year follow-up
This study provides data about the differential effectiveness of cognitive therapy (CT) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptom presentation. Two OCD manifestations, autogenous and reactive, are considered. Seventy OCD patients started CT; 81.40% completed it and 72.85% were available 1 year later. Fifteen of the 57 treatment completers had autogenous obsessions, whereas 33 had reactive obsessions. Nine patients had both obsession modalities. Reactive patients were more severe, as they scored higher on thought suppression and on the dysfunctional beliefs of intolerance to uncertainty and perfectionism. Autogenous patients scored higher on the over-importance of thoughts beliefs. Alt…
Empirically Grounded Clinical Interventions: Cognitive Versus Behaviour Therapy in the Individual Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Changes in Cognitions and Clinically Significant Outcomes at Post-Treatment and One-Year Follow-Up
Clinical significance analyses of controlled studies comparing Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Cognitive Therapy (CT) in the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are scarce. The objective of this study is to compare the clinical efficacy of ERP and CT for OCD patients, and the usefulness of each in changing dysfunctional beliefs and thought control strategies at post-treatment and at a one-year follow-up. The two treatments were delivered on the basis of a routine clinical practice in a public-mental health service. Thirty-three OCD patients were randomly assigned to ERP or CT, and 29 completed the treatments (13 in ERP and 16 in CT). The ERP applied was in vivo, grad…
EsTOCma: An App to fight against stigma associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Introduction: Stigmatizing attitudes is a problem associated to mental disorders. In obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) stigma has been associated to shame, guilty and delay asking for help. Objective: To present the design of a mobile health application (app), named EsTOCma, with the objective to increase OCD mental health literacy, help seeking attitudes, and reduce stigmatizing/ self-stigmatizing attitudes and social distance associated with OCD in adult population (non-clinical and OCD population and their relatives). Method: Method: The requirements have been developed based on a literature review on mental health antistigma interventions, OCD stigma research, and serious games resear…
esTOCma, an app developed to dismiss self-stigma and increase mental health literacy about obsessive-compulsive disorder: how does it perform in a clinical sample?
Introduction. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling condition that can be treated successfully. However, individuals with OCD often fail to seek or delay seeking treatment. In order to overcome this gap and increase the intention to seek for help, a gamified mental health mobile application (app) called esTOCma has been developed with a focus on offering information about OCD and on discussing stigmatizing attitudes toward the disease. The general aim of this study is to analyze the impact of the intervention through esTOCma in a clinical OCD sample. The objective of the study was two-fold. First, to analyze if the intervention changes the following variables in a clinical OCD …
EsTOCma: A Mental Health Application for Enhancing Mental Health Literacy About Obsessive-compulsive Disorder and Reduce Stigma: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Introduction: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating heterogeneous condition and one of the 10 leading causes of disability worldwide, affecting approximately 2%-2.3% of the population. However, there is a long delay in seeking treatment, and between 38% and 89.8% of OCD sufferers neither ask for nor receive treatment for their symptoms. Studies on OCD report that insufficient mental health literacy about OCD and the associated stigma would explain the delayed treatment-seeking behavior of OCD patients. With the aim of increasing OCD mental health literacy and reducing the associated stigma, a gamified mental health mobile application (app) called esTOCma was developed. The o…
Intrusive thoughts in non-clinical subjects: the role of frequency and unpleasantness on appraisal ratings and control strategies
This study explores the frequency of the appearance of intrusive thoughts in normal people, as well their association with cognitive appraisals and control strategies. A total of 336 subjects completed the Spanish adaptation of the Obsessional Intrusions Inventory-Revised (ROII), designed by Purdon and Clark (1993, 1994a, 1994b). Most of the subjects (99.4%) reported experiencing intrusive thoughts occasionally, but only 13% reported having them with some frequency. The intrusions were included in two factors: aggression, sexually and socially inappropriate behaviours, and doubts, checking, and cleanliness. The frequency of appearance of the most upsetting intrusive thought was associated w…
Virtual reality exposure for OCD: Is it feasible? [Exposición mediante realidad virtual para el TOC: ¿Es factible?]
Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is receiving increased attention, especially in the fields of anxiety and eating disorders. This study is the first trial examining the utility of VRET from the perspective of OCD patients. Four OCD women assessed the sense of presence, emotional engagement, and reality judgment, and the anxiety and disgust levels they experimented in four scenarios, called the Contaminated Virtual Environment (COVE), in which they had to perform several activities. The COVE scenarios were presented on a Full HD 46” TV connected to a laptop and to a Kinect device. Results indicate that the COVE scenarios generated a good sense of presence. The anxiety and disgust leve…
Group versus individual cognitive treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Changes in non-OCD symptoms and cognitions at post-treatment and one-year follow-up
Current cognitive approaches postulate that obsessions and compulsions are caused and/or maintained by misinterpretations about their meaning. This assumption has led to the development of cognitive therapeutic (CT) procedures designed to challenge the dysfunctional appraisals and beliefs patients have about their obsessions. Nonetheless, few studies have compared the efficacy of individual and group CT in changing the dysfunctional cognitions that hypothetically underlie Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In this study, 44 OCD patients were assigned to individual (n = 18) or group (n = 24) CT. Sixteen completed the individual CT, and 22 completed the group CT. The effects of the two CT c…