Frequently Asked Questions

If you are interested in participating in our study, you probably have a number of questions. Below are the most frequently asked questions about our program. Feel free, however, to contact us for more information about any of these issues or if you have questions not addressed here.

If you choose to participate, your involvement will be for a period of 8 months. For the first 8 weeks, you would come in to the clinic either once or twice a week. The number of times per week you will see us depends on which condition you are randomly placed into. After the first 8 weeks, it changes based on how much you have improved. Ultimately it may become as little as once a month. Visits last from 90 minutes to 2.5 hours per visit.

No, for the first 8 weeks of the study your condition is randomly assigned. However, after 8 weeks in whichever condition you are placed in, we do assess whether or not you have significantly improved. If no improvement is shown, you have the option of receiving the alternate treatment, also free of charge.

There are numerous benefits you'd receive if you were found eligible for the study and you decided to enroll. First of all, you have the potential to receive a full course of free OCD treatment, whether it's free cognitive behavioral therapy or free study medication. You are also seen more quickly by our evaluators; study participants get first priority in our clinic. The study treatment would cost thousands of dollars if paid for out-of-pocket.

The therapy we use in the study is cognitive-behavioral therapy, specifically exposure and ritual prevention (EXRP) therapy. This is an scientifically-validated therapy that specifically targets OCD by gradually exposing patients to their feared situations until it no longer triggers the fear response. Exposures are either imaginal (the feared situation is confronted in one's own mind) or in vivo (the feared situation is confronted in real-life situations). EXRP also involves helping the patient to resist and control their compulsive behaviors like handwashing and checking.

No, you would receive the same cognitive-behavioral therapy in the study as you would if you came to our fee-for-services clinic. The same expert clinicians who work in the clinic also provide the therapy for the study. More about the treatment team...

Risperdal (risperidone) is a psychiatric medication that has been traditionally used to treat thought disorders. When it is used to treat OCD it is given in smaller dosages. Instead of 8-9 mg, we begin patients at very small dosages (0.25 mg) and gradually increase the dosage to no more than 4 mg a day. Risperdal had also been shown to be effective for OCD when used in conjunction with an SSRI, as we do in the study. More about add-on treatments...

The serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) that are allowed in the study are Anafranil (clomipramine), Prozac (fluoxetine), Paxil and Paxil CR (paroxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Luvox (fluvoxamine), Celexa (citalopram), and Lexapro (escitalopram). Dosage can be highly individual, and it is recommended that you call our center to determine where your dosage should be to enroll in the study.

Determining eligibility would begin with a phone interview that would last around 10-15 minutes. Basic information is gathered about you, including a brief psychiatric background, medication information, and past therapy history. Initial screening will then include meeting with an evaluator at one of our centers as well as completing a medical examination, both of which are free of charge. A good first step is to give our center a call so that one of the research assistants who works on the study can conduct the phone interview.

We are in our second year of conducting the study. There are only a limited number of spots and once each spot is filled there will be no more spaces opened. If you are interested in the study, it is better to call soon and ensure that you are able to take advantage of this opportunity for no-cost treatment at an internationally-renowned clinic.

Our website is also an excellent place to look for more information about our clinic and the study itself. You can also check online at the OC Foundation, which is a nationwide organization that has good general information about OCD as well as information about providers. Finally, you might want to look into some books on OCD. Stop Obsessing! How to Overcome Your Obsessions and Compulsions, written by Dr. Edna Foa and Dr. R. Reid Wilson, is a widely used book that is excellent for family members and patients alike. More information about resources for OCD...

The first and best thing to do is to call our center so that someone can fully explain the study and walk you through the evaluation process. Contact us for more information.