David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
DIRT proves effective OCD treatment
Tue, Jun 17 2008
A treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) pioneered at the University of Sydney, Australia targets the beliefs behind the obsessive behavior rather than the behavior itself.
OCD can be hugely debilitating, leading to loss of earnings and diminished quality of life for sufferers. Traditionally the disability has been treated with behavioral therapy often combined with drugs which often have negative side effects.
The Danger Ideation Reduction Therapy (DIRT) for Obsessive Compulsive Washers program was developed by Dr Mairwen Jones and Associate Professor Ross Menzies from the Faculty of Health Sciences at Lidcombe, targets the faulty thinking that people with OCD commonly have that bad things will happen if they don't repeatedly check.
DIRT consists of six discrete treatment components aimed at reducing the number of intrusive thoughts experienced.
An example of one of the common checking concerns that DIRT deals with is the situation where a person's fear will cause them to check the iron is switched off or that the front door is locked repeatedly for over an hour before leaving the house, and then half way on their way to work, causing them to turn around and return home to check again. This repetitive behavior can often take up to many hours out of a person's day.
To combat this type of behavior DIRT utilizes a number of components such as the probability of catastrophe task. The client will be systematically taken through each of the steps that would be required to take place in order for the negative consequence (such as the house burning down) to occur. They will then calculate probability of all of the steps taking place concurrently (which would be necessary if the feared consequence were to occur).
Trials of DIRT conducted by Dr Jones and colleagues at the University of Sydney have shown very promising results with recent trials demonstrating DIRT to be more effective than the usual treatment approaches used, particularly for clients with intractable OCD whose symptoms have not been reduced with other treatments. Additionally, unlike pharmacological approaches DIRT does not have the side effects that clients may experience and unlike the behavioral approaches DIRT does not require clients to experience high levels of anxiety for treatment to be successful.
Tue, Jun 17 2008
A treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) pioneered at the University of Sydney, Australia targets the beliefs behind the obsessive behavior rather than the behavior itself.
OCD can be hugely debilitating, leading to loss of earnings and diminished quality of life for sufferers. Traditionally the disability has been treated with behavioral therapy often combined with drugs which often have negative side effects.
The Danger Ideation Reduction Therapy (DIRT) for Obsessive Compulsive Washers program was developed by Dr Mairwen Jones and Associate Professor Ross Menzies from the Faculty of Health Sciences at Lidcombe, targets the faulty thinking that people with OCD commonly have that bad things will happen if they don't repeatedly check.
DIRT consists of six discrete treatment components aimed at reducing the number of intrusive thoughts experienced.
An example of one of the common checking concerns that DIRT deals with is the situation where a person's fear will cause them to check the iron is switched off or that the front door is locked repeatedly for over an hour before leaving the house, and then half way on their way to work, causing them to turn around and return home to check again. This repetitive behavior can often take up to many hours out of a person's day.
To combat this type of behavior DIRT utilizes a number of components such as the probability of catastrophe task. The client will be systematically taken through each of the steps that would be required to take place in order for the negative consequence (such as the house burning down) to occur. They will then calculate probability of all of the steps taking place concurrently (which would be necessary if the feared consequence were to occur).
Trials of DIRT conducted by Dr Jones and colleagues at the University of Sydney have shown very promising results with recent trials demonstrating DIRT to be more effective than the usual treatment approaches used, particularly for clients with intractable OCD whose symptoms have not been reduced with other treatments. Additionally, unlike pharmacological approaches DIRT does not have the side effects that clients may experience and unlike the behavioral approaches DIRT does not require clients to experience high levels of anxiety for treatment to be successful.
