Online therapy could cut costs and still ease OCD symptoms
NCT ID NCT06659094
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether a stepped-care internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) with reduced support is as effective as traditional group therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). 95 adults with moderate to severe OCD took part. The goal was to see if the online approach can ease symptoms, save money, and find the best time to step down treatment.
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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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95 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Aug 2023
- Finished
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Dec 2025
- 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 to 50 years
- 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Individuals aged between 18 and 50 years, inclusive of both genders; 2. Presenting primarily with compulsive symptoms that meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD); 3. Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) scores ranging from 16 to 31, inclusive; 4. Have been on a stable regimen of standard anti-compulsive pharmacotherapy for a period of 8 weeks; 5. Possess a minimum educational level of junior high school; 6. Demonstrate adequate auditory and visual acuity to perform the assessments required by the study; 7. The participant and their legal guardian have comprehended the nature of the study and have provided informed consent; 8. Right-handedness (this criterion applies exclusively to participants undergoing magnetic resonance imaging). Exclusion Criteria: 1. Satisfied with the diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder in DSM-V other than OCD. 2. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms were too severe to participate in the experiment. 3. High risk of suicide. 4. Severe central system or physical disease 5. Pregnant women or women that getting ready for being pregnant and lactating. 6. Other treatments being performed. 7. Uncooperative or unable to complete treatment 8. With metal implants in the body, such as pacemakers, intracranial silver clips, metal dentures, arterial stents, arterial clips, joint metal fixation, or other metal implants, etc. (this criterion is for fMRI subjects only)
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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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Shanghai Mental Health Center
Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, 200030, China
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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