The Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Program - A Randomised Controlled Trial of online versus face-to-face Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) Treatment with clinician-assisted Internet based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), or 2) Face to face treatment for OCD at the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney. All participants will meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for OCD. Group 1: The online treatment group will have 6 online lessons to complete over the 12 week period. We recommend approximately 1 hour per week reading the lessons (total approximately 12 hours). All group 1 participants will separately complete the Internet based treatment about the management of symptoms of OCD. One lesson will be completed every 7 to 14 days (it will become available after the preceding lesson has been completed, with a minimum of 7 days between lessons and a maximum of 14 days). Group 1 participants will have access to summaries of each lesson, homework exercises, extra resources, weekly reminder emails, and one-on-one contact with the Clinician (Clinical Psychologist) by telephone or email in the first 2 weeks, then as required. The duration of the program is 8-10 weeks, but participants will be contacted 3 months post program and asked to complete follow-up questionnaires. Study questionnaires for both groups will be administered at application, pre-treatment, mid-treatment, post-treatment, at 3 months post-treatment, and the K10 pre-each lesson. These will take about 20 minutes to complete. The treatment materials are based on cognitive behavioural techniques.