The Efficacy of Metacognitive Therapy on Patients Suffering from Pure Obsession

OBJECTIVE The present study aimed to examine the efficacy of metacognitive therapy in treatment of patients with pure obsession. METHOD Six patients suffering from pure obsession were selected using purposeful sampling method and were included after meeting the inclusion criteria of the study. Patients were assessed using the structured clinical interview for DSM- IV Axis I disorder - patient edition (SCID- I/P). The patients' main obsessions were present including sexual, aggressive and blasphemous thoughts. In response to these obsessions, all patients used covert rituals and compulsive behaviors. In this study, multiple baseline, a major type of single- subject empirical design, was employed. During the baseline (3-7 weeks) and treatment (14 weekly sessions) and follow-up (3 months) patients filled out the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (Revised form) (OCI-R), Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Metacognitive Questionnaire (MCQ), Thought Fusion Inventory (TFI) and Beck Depression Inventory- II (BDI-II). To implement metacognitive therapy, Well's theraputicimstruction for OCD was used. RESULTS The results indicated that Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) is effective in reducing obsessive - compulsive symptoms and in modifying metacognitive beliefs and thought-fusion beliefs. CONCLUSION Metacognitive therapy is effective in treatment of pure obsession.