Research

New Treatment Study

September 15, 2009

New treatment study for young people with OCD (12-18 years old)

Can cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for OCD work better if you take a special medicine at each treatment session?

The government recommends cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) as the first-choice treatment for children and adolescents with OCD. CBT helps young people learn how to gradually face their fears and stop doing compulsions. Although many young people improve with CBT, some do not respond or do not make a full recovery. Research with adults has recently shown that taking a medicine called Cycloserine at the same time as having a CBT session, might help CBT work better and more quickly. Doctors think that this medicine might help people to learn new things more quickly.

This is a very exciting research finding, and we are now testing whether adding this medicine to CBT is more beneficial than CBT alone for young people (up to 18 years) with OCD.

The project has been approved by the King’s College Hospital Research Ethics Committee.

You would be eligible for the project even if you have had CBT in the past or are currently on stable doses of other medication.

If you are interested in participating, please download and complete this form, print it out and take it to your GP or local child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) to discuss whether they would make a referral to our clinic. You or your parents cannot make the referral to the clinic.

For further information please contact Dr David Mataix-Cols, Dr Cynthia Turner or Dr Isobel Heyman (Young People’s OCD Clinic, Maudsley Hospital).

Telephone: 020 3228 5222
Email: christine.fuller@slam.nhs.uk

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Participants wanted for a survey on specialist services in OCD/BDD

September 15, 2009

General Information

We are conducting a study looking at the difficulties people with OCD or BDD have experienced in accessing specialist help for their problems. If you have experienced difficulty obtaining referral to a national specialist service when cognitive behaviour therapy or medication hasn’t worked locally we would like to ask you to complete either an online survey or a questionnaire through the post about the difficulties you have had, or are having. We are interested in hearing from people with OCD or BDD of all age ranges, including children and young people. If you have not had any difficulties accessing treatment or are happy with the treatment you are receiving and feel it is working for you, this study is not for you. Also, please only complete the survey if you live in the UK and are eligible for NHS treatment.

Ethical Issues

You are under no obligation to take part in the study and if you decide not to, it will not influence any treatment you are receiving presently or in the future. It is important to be aware that taking part in the study will not guarantee you receive treatment at a specialist centre. In order to be able to follow up on the difficulties people have accessing specialist treatment, we will need your name and contact details. This personal information will be safely stored and will not be accessed by anyone other than the researchers.

How to take part

If you wish to take part, please go to the link below, which will lead you to a questionnaire concerning your OCD or BDD and the problems you have experienced. Alternatively, contact us (see below) and we can send or email you a paper copy of the questionnaire.

Questionnaire

How to contact us

If you have any questions about the study, or would like to complete a paper copy of the questionnaire by post or email, please contact Dr Anna Stout on 0203 228 2101, or at Anna.Stout@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Thank you

Dr Anna Stout
Dr David Veale
Professor Paul Salkovskis
Mr Blake Stobie
Dr Isobel Heyman
Dr Cynthia Turner

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How do you feel about yourself and others in your life?

September 15, 2009

Construction of self and significant others in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD): A study using multiple sorting procedure.

My name is Gina Smith, a trainee clinical psychologist from Surrey University. I am looking volunteers to take part in my research study.

What is the study about?

I am looking at the way people with OCD symptoms think and feel about themselves and other important people in their lives (e.g. family, friends, colleagues) as compared to those without OCD symptoms. I am doing this using a multiple sorting procedure, an unusual method which people tend to find both interesting and enjoyable.

What would I have to do?

I will ask you to fill in 15-20 cards with names of significant people in your life. I will then ask you to sort the cards into groups in such a way that all cards in any one group are similar to each other in an important way and different from those in the other groups e.g. you may sort the cards based on height and have the groups taller than me, shorter than me, about the same height as me.. When you have sorted the cards I will ask you to tell me on what basis you have sorted the cards and what is similar about all the cards in each group and record this information. We will repeat this process several times. I will then ask you to sort the cards into some groups specified by me. This would take about an hour.

Who can take part?

In order to be eligible to take part you should:

  • Be over 18
  • Be an English speaker
  • Have OCD symptoms
  • Be able to name 6 family members and 6 friends

Please read this full information sheet

If you are interested in taking part then please email me at g.l.smith@surrey.ac.uk

This study has ethical approval from the Faculty of Human Sciences Ethical Committee of Surrey University.

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