Patient Rating of Therapeutic Factors and Response to Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Group therapy involves complex mechanisms that rely on certain therapeutic factors to promote improvement. The objective of this study was to assess patient rating of therapeutic factors during cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) and to investigate the correlation between patient rating and outcome of CBGT for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In the present clinical trial, 15 patients participated in a 12-session CBGT protocol. Severity of symptoms was assessed before and after CBGT with the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Yalom's Curative Factors Questionnaire was administered at the end of each session for patient rating of the usefulness of 12 therapeutic factors to treat OCD. There was a significant interaction between improvement in obsessive-compulsive symptoms and patient rating of altruism, universality, interpersonal learning input and output, family re-enactment, self-understanding, and existential factors over time. The results show that group therapeutic factors positively influence the response to CBGT in OCD patients.