Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of the top ten most debilitating disorders, yet is rarely treated with the right medication.1
OCD procedure front-line procedure is to prescribe Selective-Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), and provide the patient with the option for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). One of the most common plans for CBT is to use Exposure-Response Prevention (ERP) over several months to train the patient to adapt to the disorder. This has proven to be semi-effective, but is quite expensive.2
However, new studies have shown the effectiveness of the Bergen 4 Day Treatment, which instead of months of costly CBT, compresses the ERP treatment into a 4-day intensive in-patient program that is not only more affordable, but also much more convenient and therefore less likely to be turned down by patients.
The Bergen 4 Day Treatment (B4DT) had a much higher remission rate, and much higher recovery rate than ordinary ERP. Although ordinary ERP had a lower chance of relapse, the difference is negligible when comparing to the more effective results from the B4DT. Additionally, because of how short the B4DT is, much fewer patients declined or dropped treatment when compared to standard ERP procedure.
Source: The World Health Organization: The Global Burden of Disease↩︎
Richards DA, Ekers D, McMillan D, Taylor RS, Byford S, Warren FC, Barrett B, Farrand PA, Gilbody S, Kuyken W, O’Mahen H, Watkins ER, Wright KA, Hollon SD, Reed N, Rhodes S, Fletcher E, Finning K. Cost and Outcome of Behavioural Activation versus Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Depression (COBRA): a randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial. Lancet. 2016 Aug 27;388(10047):871-80. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31140-0. Epub 2016 Jul 23. PMID: 27461440; PMCID: PMC5007415.↩︎