An Iranian study of group acceptance and commitment therapy versus group cognitive behavioral therapy for adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder on an optimal dose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

• Published in: Journal of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders 2019-07, Vol.22, p.100440, Article 100440
• Main Authors: Shabani, Mohammad Javad, Mohsenabadi, Hamid, Omidi, Abdollah, Lee, Eric B., Twohig, Michael P., Ahmadvand, Afshin, Zanjani, Zahra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acceptance and commitment therapy; Adolescent; Cognitive-behavioral therapy; Obsessive-compulsive disorder; Randomized controlled trial
• ISSN: 2211-3649; 2211-3657
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jocrd.2019.04.003

Conducted in Iran, participants included 69 adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who were on a stable selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) dose and were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: group acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)+SSRI, group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)+SSRI, or continued SSRI treatment. Assessment occurred at pre-, post-treatment, and three-month follow-up and included the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-8), Valued Living Questionnaire (VLQ), and Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). ACT + SSRI and CBT + SSRI conditions demonstrated significant reductions in OCD severity that were maintained at follow-up compared to the continued SSRI condition. All conditions demonstrated significant reductions in depression that were maintained at follow-up. The ACT + SSRI condition demonstrated significant improvement in psychological flexibility, mindfulness, and valued living that were maintained at follow-up compared to the CBT + SSRI and continued SSRI conditions. Findings indicate that ACT + SSRI is comparably effective as CBT + SSRI at treating adolescent OCD. However, ACT + SSRI appears to differ from CBT + SSRI on changes in psychological flexibility, mindfulness, and valued living, indicating potential differences in mechanism of change. •ACT and CBT were more effective then continued SSRI for adolescents with OCD at posttreatment and follow-up.•All three conditions were effective at reducing depression.•ACT showed greater changes in psychological flexibility, mindfulness, and valued living over other conditions.