Mindfulness-based Behavioral Therapy (MBBT) for OCD

Abstract OCD is a widespread disorder affecting about 1.21% or 3.3 million people in the US alone. Despite the relative benefits of pharmacological interventions and cognitive-behavior therapy, the full recovery rate is low, and dropout and relapse rates are high. Apart from the standard outpatient Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) method, other options for severe, refractory OCD include general psychiatric inpatient admission, intensive residential treatment, and partial-hospitalization. None of these options is completely or universally effective, and there is a need for continued innovation in OCD treatment. Over the last two decades, interest has grown in integrating aspects of mindfulness training into the treatment of psychiatric disorders and the prevention of relapse. Meta-analyses suggest that such integration decreases distress in mood and anxiety disorders. The lead directives of mindfulness practice are to stay in the present moment and not to appraise internal and external events as they unfold. This is in direct contrast to OCD behavior that tends to ruminate on the past, to dread the future, and to over-value negative ideation at the expense of recognizing the current reality of a situation. However, in this pilot study of Mindfulness-Based Behavioral Therapy (MBBT), mindfulness training appears to help patients acquire behavioral strategies to manage OCD symptoms. Of the 140 subjects involved in this retrospective chart review, which integrated MBBT with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) methods, the average OCD YBOCS score was reduced by 60%. Thus, MBBT integrated with ERP appears to offer hope to those suffering from OCD who have been non-responsive to traditional treatments.