Brief culturally adapted cognitive behaviour therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder: A pilot study

Objective: To demonstrate the effectiveness of Brief Culturally adapted Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CaCBT) in the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Methods: This pre and post design study was conducted on out-patients with OCD at Centre for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Fountain House, Lahore, from April 2011 to April 2012. A semi structured questionnaire was developed to document demographic details of all the patients. All the participants were assessed at baseline (Pre Therapy session) with Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Scale (Y-BOCS), Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale (Depression Subscale & Anxiety Subscale) and Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ). They were re-assessed on the same scales at the end of therapy in a follow up assessment session. Feedback from patients and their family member, who were trained as co-therapist, was obtained at the end of the therapy for assessing the satisfaction with the therapy. All the patients received six sessions of brief culturally adapted cognitive behavior therapy (CaCBT). Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS v.22.

Results: The mean age of the sample (n=21) was 31.14±11.9 years. There were significant differences post CBT between the scores of Y-BOCS (p=0.000), HADS – Depression subscale (p=0.001), HADS – Anxiety subscale (p=0.000) and BDQ (p=0.000).

Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence for effectiveness of culturally adapted CBT for OCD.