Some kids and teens think they'll have an accident if they do not count all the street lights on their way to school. Or can not leave the house unless they have washed their hands precisely twenty-five times. They suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is an extremely stressful psychiatric disorder that affects between 0.25 and 4 percent of all children.
Fortunately, the treatment method - cognitive-behavioral therapy - is both effective and well documented. The largest research study on the treatment of OCD for children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 shows that cognitive-behavioral therapy also has a long-term effect. The Nordic research project, involving researchers from the University of Aarhus and child and adolescent psychiatry clinics in Norway and Sweden, showed that children and adolescents who benefited from it were also free of behaviors. compulsive and compulsive thoughts one year after the end of treatment.
"The study clearly shows that cognitive-behavioral therapy goes beyond the treatment period, which is important for practitioners, but not for affected children and their families," says Per Hove Thomsen , one of the study researchers and professor at the University of Aarhus and consultant at the Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Risskov. He is also the final author of the findings, which have just been published in the scientific journal Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry .
"Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a very difficult disorder that requires a colossal amount of the child in question: it is almost impossible to live a normal life as a child and teenager with a normal level of development, if you need to wash your hands a hundred times a day in a special way so as not to be killed, what compulsive thinking can dictate.For the same reason, early intervention is necessary before that the disorder has disabling consequences in adulthood, "says Per Hove Thomsen.]
Children in the study were treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is a behavioral psychological treatment. Basically, it is to get help to refrain from acting on compulsive thoughts and instead incorporate new thought patterns. The method also involves the whole family because the effect is reinforced by the mother and father supporting the methods that the child is given to overcome the OCD.
In addition, according to the psychologist and Dr. David RMA Højgaard, who is the senior author of the scientific article, once treatment is completed, a watchful eye should be kept on the child or l & # 39; teenager.
"The results of the study indicate that to maintain the long-term effect, you must remain conscious and detect the symptoms of OCD in order to be able to smother them in the egg before you start. they do not develop and worsen, refreshing the principles of treatment and thus preventing obsessive-compulsive disorder from re-establishing itself, "explains David RMA Højgaard.
The collaboration with the Norwegian and Swedish infant and adolescent psychiatry clinics has enriched the knowledge that may be important for the organization of OCD treatment.
"The biggest challenge of treating OCD is that there are not enough therapists and treatment centers specially trained to meet the needs." The study shows that if the Therapist training level is consolidated and if supervision is provided, it is possible to provide treatment in an isolated corner of Norway that is just as effective as the treatment provided in a university clinic, "says Per Hove Thomsen
.Source:
http://www.au.dk/en/#news-11718
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