Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Third-Wave, Mindfulness-Based Therapies As Treatments For Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Xander Kahle, Avery Waklatsi, Amy Pytlovany

Student Research Symposium

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe, difficult-to-treat neuropsychiatric condition that affects millions of people throughout the world. The current first-line psychotherapy for OCD is exposure and response prevention (ERP). ERP is effective but flawed, and researchers seek alternative OCD treatments. We examined two third-wave, mindfulness-based therapies (1) acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and (2) mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) as treatments for OCD. We expected ACT/MBCT to have (1a) significantly higher OCD symptom reduction rates, (1b) higher treatment response rates, and (1c) lower dropout rates than a control (progressive relaxation training/PRT), as well as (2a) equal/higher OCD symptom reduction rates, (2b) …