An Educational Program to Enhance the Identification of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and the Utilization of Exposure and Response Prevention Among Outpatient Mental Health Providers.

BACKGROUND: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent and impairing psychiatric disorder that is frequently misdiagnosed. Further, despite a breadth of evidence in support of Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) in the treatment of OCD, it is often underutilized or used incorrectly.

METHODS: This quality improvement project was conducted utilizing the Plan Do Study Act Cycle at an outpatient group mental health facility with a sample of 19 mental health providers. A pretest post-test design was utilized to assess whether a 1-h educational program would result in an improvement in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of mental health providers.

RESULTS: Changes in knowledge toward the diagnosis of OCD and use of ERP from pre to post-test showed an increase. Mental health providers' attitudes surrounding perceived comfort in their ability to diagnose OCD, to use ERP, to identify taboo obsessional content, and to utilize exposures in patients with covert compulsions showed statistically significant improvement. The majority of participants indicated that they would change how they assess for OCD, how often they use ERP, and how they conduct ERP.

CONCLUSION: This educational program shows promise as a relatively simple, cost-effective intervention to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of OCD among outpatient mental health providers.