The vast majority of children with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are given serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) drugs as initial treatment. However, recommended doses of these medications leave many children with clinically significant residual symptoms. Health care experts typically recommend augmenting SRI treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), yet this recommendation is seldom followed. This study will contrast two CBT augmentation strategies to continued medication management alone: CBT administered by a psychologist and instructional CBT (I-CBT)administered by a psychiatrist in the context of ongoing medication management.
All patients in the trial will be eligible to receive a full course of CBT by study end. Participants in this study will be randomly assigned to receive CBT, I-CBT or continued medication management. All participants will continue their SRI treatment for 12 weeks. After the 12-week treatment period, participants who received I-CBT or medication management alone and who remain symptomatic will be given CBT as will participants who are asymptomatic but relapse within 6 months after treatment. Assessments will be conducted at Weeks 0, 4, 8, and 12. Follow-up assessments will be conducted at 3 and 6 months post-treatment.
