Family-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is beneficial to young children between the ages of five and eight with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The study found developmentally sensitive family-based CBT that included exposure/response prevention was more effective in reducing OCD symptoms and functional impairment in this age group than a similarly structured relaxation program.
Jennifer Freeman, PhD, a staff psychologist at the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and clinical co-director of the Intensive Program for OCD at Bradley Hospital, led the study. "CBT has been established as an effective form of OCD treatment in older children and adolescents, but its effect on young children has not been thoroughly examined," said Freeman. "These findings have significant public health implications, as they support the idea that very young children with emerging OCD can benefit from behavioral treatment."
Abstract available at JAMA Psychiatry: http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1861509
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