NOCD Announces Results of a Clinical Trial on the Efficacy of its Mobile App Integrated with Exposure and Response Prevention for Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

CHICAGO, June 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NOCD, a telehealth company that specializes in identifying and treating people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), announced today the publication in the journal, Behavior Therapy, of a study from Columbia University Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute on the use of the Company's mobile app. The results from the clinical trial demonstrate significant benefits of an integrated treatment approach combining live therapy and NOCD's mobile app in reducing OCD symptoms. 

"We developed NOCD to increase access and in-between session support for the many individuals worldwide suffering from OCD," said Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of NOCD." The Columbia University Medical Center data underlines the importance of our stepped-care model and shows the benefits of integrated Exposure and Response Prevention therapy with an OCD therapist and our NOCD platform."

The integrated treatment program (called Brief Exposure and Response Prevention Assisted by Mobile app, or BEAM) consisted of three to five live sessions with therapists followed by five weekly phone calls. The treatment was supported by the NOCD mobile app to promote patient accountability and tracking of exposures and response prevention. The participants, individuals with moderate severity of OCD symptoms, were evaluated by trained raters and completed self-report measures at baseline, mid-treatment, post-treatment, and at a two-month follow-up. OCD symptom severity was the primary outcome, measured by the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS).

Of the 33 study participants, 14 (42%) responded to treatment (Y-BOCS decrease ≥35% with CGI- of 1 or 2), and eight (24%) achieved minimal symptoms (i.e., YBOCS ≤12). At two-month follow-up (n=20), 7/20 (35%) met criteria for treatment response and 3/20 (15%) met criteria for treatment remission. Of those who completed the study, 52% responded to treatment and 30% achieved minimal symptoms.

The qualitative data from the open-ended user experience scales revealed that in-person sessions, education about exposure and response prevention (ERP), therapist expertise, and accountability were the top perceived benefits of the overall program. Most participants did not report wanting more therapist time and instead reported feeling very satisfied with the frequency and number of therapy sessions. The average total therapist time per patient for the entire treatment was less than seven hours.

In sum, despite the minimal treatment intervention, this eight-week program resulted in both a statistically significant and clinically meaningful decrease in OCD symptoms.  Importantly, notwithstanding that ERP can be a challenging treatment for patients, 81.8% completed the study.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine and demonstrate the potential of integrating therapist support with a mobile app designed for OCD," added Smith. "Although this was an open pilot trial that needs to be followed up to confirm efficacy with a randomized controlled study in a larger sample, the current results suggest that the combined program is feasible, acceptable and demonstrates a clinically significant reduction in OCD symptoms. Through this and future studies, our goal at NOCD is to continue to help make evidence-based OCD treatment more efficient, affordable, and accessible for the greatest number of people."

Individuals with OCD are encouraged to visit www.treatmyocd.com to learn more as well as to download the NOCD app. Free introductory sessions are available for individuals to learn more about working with an NOCD therapist. For any questions about NOCD's services, send an email to [email protected]

This study was funded by the New York State Office of Mental Health, Columbia University, and the Center for OCD and Related Disorders. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier NCT 03476902).

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SOURCE NOCD