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The OCD Empower Project

Online Support and Intervention for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Interested Services Area for Families (coming soon) Area for Clinicians/Services Contact Us

What is the OCD Empower Project?

  • This project aims to evaluate a brief online therapist guided, parent-led Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) treatment for children with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder(OCD) called Online Support and Intervention (OSI) for OCD.
  • OSI-OCD involves parents working through 10 online modules and implementing evidence-based tools at home with their child, with regular support from a therapist via 10 x 20 – 30 minutes telephone or video calls, over a 3 – 4 month period.
  • The project aims to explore the feasibility of this novel treatment and the feasibility of a future larger trial comparing OSI-OCD to usual treatment in routine clinical services.

Why are we doing this study?

  • Childhood OCD is a debilitating mental health condition that often starts around the age of 10 years old and affects about 3% of children.
  • While current treatments are effective, they usually require over 10 hours of therapy with a specialist therapist, which can make it hard for many children to access these treatments.
  • OSI-OCD is a brief treatment that has the potential to increase access to evidence-based support for affected families.

How was OSI-OCD developed?

  • OSI was originally designed for children with anxiety problems and has been found to be effective for treating child anxiety problems and also acceptable to children and families. You can read more about previous OSI research here.
  • OSI-OCD was developed based on the existing evidence-based for psychological treatments for children with OCD and extensive involvement from parents of children with OCD, children with OCD, and therapists.

What would taking part in the OCD Empower Project involve?

  • We’re looking to work with 6 NHS trusts to take part in this trial.
  • We’ll recruit 48 families (of children aged 5 – 12 years old with OCD) across these trusts to receive either OSI-OCD or usual treatment in the service.
  • All families will be asked to complete interviews and questionnaires to help us to understand whether the novel treatment is helpful for families.

Would you like more information?

  • If you are a UK clinical service interested in taking part, please refer to our ‘interested services’ page, or please reach out to the research team: ocd-empower@psych.ox.ac.uk