Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T01:03:41.218Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An In-patient Behavioural Psychotherapy Unit

Description and Audit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Graham Thornicroft
Affiliation:
Social and Community Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
Louise Colson
Affiliation:
Behavioural Treatment Unit, Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF
Isaac Marks*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry
*
Correspondence

Abstract

An in-patient behavioural psychotherapy unit is described that emphasises self-treatment, teaching relatives to become cotherapists while resident in the unit, routine collection of outcome data, minimising use of medication, and absence of night nurses. Patients are referred from all over the UK, mostly with chronic disabling OCD. Treatment includes self-exposure and self-imposed response prevention. A year's cohort (52 patients) showed substantial improvement that consolidated during six-month follow-up (83% decrease in total ritual time per day, 58% fall in target ritual scores, better social adjustment), and families noted relief of burden; eight patients dropped out. Further such units are needed in the UK, perhaps on a regional basis; they could be run as specialist hostels.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1991 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adshead, G. A. Drummond, L. M. & Mercer, S. (1988) Paradoxical intention and anti-exposure. British Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 821823.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kasvikis, Y. Bradley, B. Gossop, M. et al (1991) Clonidinc vs long and short-term methadone-aided withdrawal from opiates. International Journal of Addiction (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kasvikis, Y. Bradley, B. Gossop, M. et al (1991 b) Cue exposure to prevent relapse in heroin addicts after withdrawal. International Journal of Addiction (in press).Google Scholar
Marks, I. M. (1978) Living With Fear. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Marks, I. M. (1986 a) Behavioural Psychotherapy: Maudsley Pocketbook of Clinical Management. London: Butterworth.Google Scholar
Marks, I. M. (1986 b) Psychiatric Nurse Therapists in Primary Care. London: Royal College of Nursing Research Series.Google Scholar
Marks, I. M. (1987) Fears, Phobias and Rituals. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Marks, I. M. & Matthews, A. (1979) Brief standard self-rating for phobic patients. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 17, 263267.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Myers, J. K. Weissman, M. M. Tischler, G. L. et al (1984) 6-month prevalence of psychiatric disorders in 3 communities. Archives of General Psychiatry, 42, 651656.Google Scholar
O'Sullivan, G. & Marks, I. M. (1990) Long-term follow-up of agoraphobia/panic and obsessive/compulsive disorders. In Handbook of Anxiety Disorders (eds Noyes, R. et al). Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Wittchen, H. U. (1988) Natural course and spontaneous remissions of untreated anxiety disorders: the Munich follow-up study. In Panic and Phobias 2 (eds Hand, I. & Wittchen, H. U.). London: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.