A program that dramatically improves the symptoms of Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in just 4 days gains attention

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Approximately 2.3% of the population is said to experience obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that repeats irrational behaviors and thoughts against your will at some point in your life. When it comes to OCD, the daily life remains unchanged to repeat the acts such as getting into a shower or bath many times a day because it is concerned about body dirt. Although it is generally OCD that treatment is taken over months, a program that raises dramatic effects with only 4 days of treatment is drawing attention.

4 Days of Intensive Therapy Can Reverse OCD for Years - Scientific American
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/4-days-of-intensive-therapy-can-reverse-ocd-for-years/

Clinical psychiatrist Norwegian Bjarne Hansen and Mr. Gerd Kvale are two of the 50 most influential people in TIME 's healthcare . They are conducting behavioral therapy for OCD at Hauquelan University Hospital in Bergen, Norway, and more than 1,200 people have participated in the program which is conducted intensively for 4 days.

Kathrine Mydland-aas, a 41-year-old OCD patient, is one who participated in the program as a doctor's advice while becoming skeptical "What can we do in the 4th?" Mydland-aas repeatedly infinitely repeated cleaning, washing, hand washing and other things because of fear of bacteria and pollution, and was suffering not being able to make children's dinner satisfactorily. However, participating in the program of Kvale et al. Said that "life changed".

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Treatment of OCD is usually "sessions of about 1 hour a day for weekly, several months". There is also short-term intensive care, but in this case the session time per week is about three hours. On the other hand, the therapy at Haucheran University Hospital is only 4 days and we will have a session of 10 to 12 hours. Avital Falk, OCD treatment at Weil Cornell Medical College in New York, says, "It is amazing to complete treatment in such a short time."

Mr. Kvale has been a short-term treatment for phobias and chronic fatigue since the 1990s. Mr. Kvale began his research as he noticed that OCD treatment was not performed adequately in Norway. In 2010 he persuaded the bosses of the University of Hawkelan hospital to establish a clinic for the development of therapeutic methods for OCD and immediately hired Hansen to practice the treatment "LE in into the anxiety (LET)" It was. The two worked on LET-centered treatment protocols by the fall of 2011, and in June 2012 they actually conducted the first tests targeting humans. The effectiveness of the therapy is very high, and the test is "It gave it as expected".

On the first day of the 4-day program, the therapist will give OCD information to the patient and urge the patient to prepare for the task to be done in the next 2 days. On the 2nd and 3rd days, turns the patient faces his "horror". For example, if you have a fear of contamination, the therapist will be instructed to touch the surface of the thing or thing that triggers that fear. The patient is told to focus at the moment of feeling "impulse" taking action to regain discomfort and anxiety, and change the behavior style. And on the fourth day, it will be time to think about how to keep "change of behavior" done on the 2nd and 3rd day, after leaving the clinic and returning to daily life.

The 2nd and 3rd days will be the center of the program, but Kvale and Hansen say the point is that the two days are single and long sessions. In addition, the program incorporates LET's technique into sessions and treatment formats, and it is said that 3 to 6 therapists and patients of the same number grouped together to help treat patients to improve the effectiveness of treatment Says. In this method, patients in the group can observe the change of other patients and can treat according to each individual patient.

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According to a report published in August 2018, 56 out of 77 patients who participated in the program of Kvale et al. Reported relief of symptoms even after 4 years of treatment and 41 of 56 People say that they have "completely recovered". Researchers say that this result has nothing to do with the treatment or patients taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor in the past and has a higher effect than other treatments.

Meanwhile, it is pointed out that the study is done without using the control group and it is still early to conclude that the treatment method performed at the Howkelan University Hospital is superior to other behavioral treatments To do.

Mr. Kvale and Mr. Hansen are planning to conduct experiments in Houston, Texas, USA from 2020 and are planning to conduct further clinical trials before starting experiments in places with different cultural backgrounds.