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Intervention Research in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

Self-Help

Our self-help concepts are available in formats ranging from books and online modules to apps. For example, association splitting is a technique we developed to reduce obsessions. It builds on our findings regarding associative processes (detailed information and PDF materials can be found here).

The self-help manual My Metacognitive Training consists of 14 units addressing cognitive biases and typical fears (e.g., the fear of being dangerous or schizophrenic). This manual is based on foundational research and serves as the basis for our Metacognitive Training for OCD (MCT-OCD) for use in group settings (detailed information and materials available here).

In the area of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, we manage a website called Tricks Against Tics, which presents self-help techniques for impulse control disorders (e.g., nail-biting, trichotillomania). More information and materials can be accessed here.

In addition, we have developed and are maintaining an extension of our COGITO app supporting emotional well-being (detailed information here), which now includes an add-on package with exercises specifically addressing OCD.

Exposure and Response Prevention

According to clinical guidelines, OCD can be effectively treated using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), particularly exposure and response prevention (ERP) exercises. However, ERP is not often applied in routine care, and many individuals benefit little from the intervention or do not experience a sustained benefit.

As part of our work on treatment guidelines and in the training and continuing education of therapists, we advocate for the dissemination of evidence-based approaches. In our research, we aim to optimize the effectiveness of ERP and reduce application barriers, such as through variations in treatment frequency. A concrete outcome of these efforts is the introduction of a compact ERP treatment format known as the Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT).

Research Team

  • Prof. Dr. Lena Jelinek
  • Prof. Dr. Steffen Moritz
  • Dipl.-Psych. Birgit Hottenrott
  • Dr. Franziska Sophia Miegel
  • M. Sc. Luzie Lohse
  • Dr. Jakob Scheunemann
  • Dr. Marit Hauschildt
  • Dr. Lara Rolvien (formerly Bücker)
  • Dr. med. Amir Yassari
  • M. Sc. Maren Schäfer
  • M. Sc. Josephine Schultz
  • M. Sc. Stella Schmotz
  • Dipl.-Psych. Anna Baumeister
  • Dr. med. Christina Müller

Cooperating Partners

  • Dr. Terence H. W. Ching (Yale University School of Medicine, USA)
  • Dr. Barbara Cludius (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
  • Dr. Anne Daubmann (Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf)
  • Anja Göritz (Universität Augsburg)
  • Prof. Dr. Iver Hand (Verhaltenstherapie Falkenried, Hamburg)
  • Prof. Dr. Kristen Hagen (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway)
  • Prof. Dr. Bjarne Hansen (Bergen Center for Brain Plasticity, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway)
  • Dr. Philip Herzog (Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau)
  • Dipl.-Psych. Ina Jahn (Zentrum für Seelische Gesundheit, HELIOS Park-Klinikum Leipzig)
  • Fabian Jäger (PatientZero Games, Hamburg)
  • Prof. Dr. Norbert Kathmann (Humboldt Universität Berlin)
  • Dr. Anne Katrin Külz (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg)
  • Prof. Dr. Levente Kriston (Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf)
  • Prof. Dr. Philip Lindner (Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden)
  • Dr. Sarah Liebherz (Institut für Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf)
  • Prof. Dr. Helmut Peter (MVZ Falkenried)
  • Antonia Peters (Deutsche Gesellschaft Zwangserkrankungen)
  • Prof. Dr. Michael Reiniger (Institut für Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf)
  • Prof. Dr. Anja Riesel (Universität Hamburg)
  • Prof. Dr. Julian Rubel (Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen)
  • Dr. Alexander F. Schmidt (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn)
  • Prof. Dr. Johanna Schröder (Hamburg Medical School)
  • Dr. Katarina Stengler (Zentrum für Seelische Gesundheit, HELIOS Park-Klinikum Leipzig)
  • Dr. Peter Tonn (Neuropsychiatrisches Zentrum Hamburg)
  • Prof. Dr. Ulrich Voderholzer (Schön Klinik Roseneck, Prien am Chiemsee)
Publications – Intervention Research

MCT-OCD and association splitting

Cludius, B., Landmann, S., Rose, N., Heidenreich, T., Hottenrott, B., Schröder, J., Jelinek, L., Voderholzer, U., Külz, A. K., & Moritz, S. (2020). Long-term effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and residual symptoms after cognitive behavioral therapy: Twelve-month follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Psychiatry Research, 291, 113119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113119

Jelinek, L., Hauschildt, M., Hottenrott, B., Kellner, M., & Moritz, S. (2018). “Association splitting” versus cognitive remediation in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 56, 17–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JANXDIS.2018.03.012

Miegel, F, Moritz, S., Hottenrott, B., Demiralay, C., & Jelinek, L. (2021). Metacognitive Training for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 30, 100647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2021.100647

Manual-based self-help

Moritz, S., Jelinek, L., Hauschildt, M., & Naber, D. (2010). How to treat the untreated: effectiveness of a self-help metacognitive training program (myMCT) for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 12(2), 209–220. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2010.12.2/smoritz

Moritz, S., Jelinek, L., Klinge, R., & Naber, D. (2007). Fight Fire with Fireflies! Association Splitting: A Novel Cognitive Technique to Reduce Obsessive Thoughts. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 35(05), 631–635. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465807003931

Moritz, S., & Jelinek, L. (2011). Further evidence for the efficacy of association splitting as a self-help technique for reducing obsessive thoughts. Depression & Anxiety, 28, 574–581. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20843

Hauschildt, M., Schröder, J., & Moritz, S. (2016). Randomized-controlled trial on a novel (meta-) cognitive self-help approach for obsessive-compulsive disorder ("myMCT"). Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 10, 26–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2016.04.010

Self-help: Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy

Jelinek, L., Schröder, J., Bücker, L., Miegel, F., Baumeister, A., Moritz, S., Sibilis, A., Schultz, J. (2023). Improving adherence to unguided Internet-based therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Affective Disorders, 338, 472–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.06.038

Schröder, J., Werkle, N., Cludius, B., Jelinek, L., Moritz, S., & Westermann, S. (2020). Unguided Internet‐based cognitive‐behavioral therapy for obsessive‐compulsive disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Depression and Anxiety, 37(12), 1208–1220. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.23105

Exposure therapy

Jelinek, L., Balzar, A., Moritz, S., Reiniger, M., & Miegel, F. (2022). Therapists' thought action fusion beliefs predict utilization of exposure in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behavior Therapy. 53, 23–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2021.05.004

Miegel, F., Jelinek, L., Moritz, S., Lohse, L., Yassari, A. H., & Bücker, L. (2023). Exposure and response prevention therapy in mixed reality for patients with contamination-related obsessive-compulsive disorder: A randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of Clinical Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23550

Lohse, L., Jelinek, L., Moritz, S., Blömer, J., Bücker, L., & Miegel, F. (2023). Efficacy of exposure and response prevention therapy in mixed reality for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychology, 11(1), 113. https://doi.org/10.1186/S40359-023-01116-3

Miegel, F., Bücker, L., Mostajeran, F., Baumeister, A., Moritz, S., Kühn, S., Lohse, L., Blömer, J., Grzella, K., & Jelinek, L. (2022). Exposure and response prevention in virtual reality for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A case series. Psychiatric Quarterly, 93, 861–882. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-022-09992-5

Moritz, S., Külz, A., Voderholzer, U., Hillebrand, T., McKay, D., & Jelinek, L. (2019). "Phobie à deux" and other reasons why clinicians do not apply exposure with response prevention in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 48, 162–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506073.2018.1494750