Acceptance and commitment therapy as an add-on treatment for the management of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

Background: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and long-lasting illness affecting approximately 2% of the population. Up to 40%–60% of patients with OCD do not have satisfactory outcomes, thereby leading to disability in performing daily routine activities. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) provides a substitute for old-fashioned psychotherapies, as it involves the client directly experiencing the problematic emotion, that is, anxiety and obsessions in the case of OCD. Aim: To observe the effect of ACT on patients with OCD and compare its effect on obsessive compulsive symptoms, thought control, thought and action fusion, acceptance and action, and depression. Materials and Methods: A total of 62 patients diagnosed with OCD as per Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) in the age range between 18 and 60 years, having duration of illness less than two years, both male and female, literate and illiterate, hailing from rural and urban background, were included in the study. For pre- and post-assessment Yale-Brown Obsessive and Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), acceptance and commitment questionnaire, thought control questionnaire, and thought and action fusion questionnaire were used in this study, and ACT was used for management of OCD. Results: There is a significant difference between the groups treated with ACT and those treated as usual, on every domain of thought control questionnaire (TCQ) -- distraction (t = 9.07), social control (t = 11.13), worry (t = 11.93), punishment (t = 16.78), and re-appraisal (t = 16.47). Significance is also seen in the thought and action fusion in the moral domain (t = 16.22), the likelihood domain (t = 16.49), and others (t = 9.23). On Y-BOCS, HDRS, and acceptance and action questionnaire (AAQ) both groups show a significant difference between each other. Conclusion: The findings of the present study indicate that ACT is a productive method for patients with OCD as it encourages the patient to accept and integrate their lived experiences, challenges effective responses, and recognizes and eliminates the controlling dimensions.