22 Among other cognitive distortions, it deals with the six cognitive biases identified by the Obsessive-Compulsive

Working Group23-26: (i) inflated responsibility, (ii) overimportance of thoughts, (iii) excessive concern about the importance of controlling one’s thoughts, (iv) overestimation of threat, (v) PD-0332991 nmr intolerance of uncertainty, and (vi) perfectionism (see Appendix) . Appendix The myMCT comprises 14 sections which deal with the following themes. Some of its exercises have been derived from a metacognitive training program for schizophrenia first published in 2005.27 Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical The myMCT pursues three overarching aims: (i) knowledge translation/psychoeducation, that is, to teach patients about core features of OCD (ie, obsessions, compulsions, avoidance, and safety behaviors); (ii) help patients to detect cognitive biases, dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs as well as dysfunctional coping strategies that subserve, maintain, or fuel OCD symptoms; (iii) convey new strategies to reduce and Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical cope with OCD symptoms, particularly obsessions. The program is eclectic and encompasses theories and strategies derived

from other “schools,” most notably cognitive-behavioral, metacognitive,28 and to a lesser degree psychoanalytic accounts,29 whose theoretical foundations are not mutually exclusive but may in part reflect different sides of the same coin. To illustrate, inflated responsibility plays Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical a central role Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical for most OCD theories. Whereas cognitive intervention would primarily target the content of the belief, dynamic

approaches would ask how far responsibility reflects, for example, reaction formation, that is, overcompensation of latent aggression.30 In a recent study, we indeed found evidence that these seemingly contradictory attitudes – inflated responsibility and high moral standards versus latent aggression and mistrust – coexist Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in patients.31 From Wells’ metacognitive standpoint, exaggerated responsibility is an epiphenomenon related to fusion beliefs32: Patients feel responsible as their thoughts are deemed toxic and potentially harmful to others. Our self-help manual starts with an introduction which defines core features of OCD symptomatology, demonstrates its most prevalent Cediranib (AZD2171) subtypes, and requests patients to identify their own core problems (obsessions, compulsions, avoidance, safety behavior) and dysfunctional coping strategies (eg, thought suppression, rumination). Then, the aims of the program are explicated. The myMCT consists of 14 sections dealing with prevalent cognitive biases in OCD. These are summarized in the Appendix. The present study set out to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of the myMCT as a self-help approach for OCD. Although therapist-guided CBT remains the undisputed treatment of choice for OCD, a large group of patients, as mentioned before, does not actively seek professional help and specialized therapy is not widely available.