Retraining the brain: could a Thought-Focused app ease OCD?
NCT ID NCT06731426
First seen Jul 15, 2026 · Last updated Jul 16, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests a personalized cognitive training program called CBM-TAF for adults with obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms. The program targets a specific thinking pattern known as thought-action fusion (TAF), where people believe having an unwanted thought is as bad as acting on it or makes it more likely to happen. Participants will complete multiple training sessions on their mobile devices, and researchers will measure changes in OC symptoms and related biases. The goal is to see if this approach can help reduce the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a personalized cognitive bias modification program called CBM-TAF
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this approach could offer a new, non-drug treatment option for reducing obsessive-compulsive symptoms by retraining harmful thought patterns.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with a small sample of college students, so results may not apply to the broader OCD population. The training may not produce lasting changes.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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83 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Apr 2024
- Finished
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Feb 2026
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * A score of 18 or higher on the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS) * Aged 18 or higher * Access to a mobile device (i.e., smartphone) Exclusion Criteria: * Self-reported visual impairment that cannot be adjusted and will prevent them from clearly recognizing words and pictures on mobile screen * Self-reported history of a bipolar disorder or psychotic disorder on a Diagnostic History Scale (DHS) * Inability to adequately understand the study procedure as determined by the responses to comprehension questions provided at the time of the consent
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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UWM Anxiety Disorders Laboratory
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53211, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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