Treatment of Obsessions: Relevant v. Irrelevant Exposure

Abstract

Six patients suffering from obsessional ruminations were treated with prolonged exposure in imagination. Two variants were compared in a cross-over design: (1) relevant exposure, consisting of exposure to the obsessions and (2) irrelevant exposure, consisting of exposure to ordinary frightening experiences. Relevant exposure proved to be significantly superior to irrelevant exposure. The data of this study suggest that habituation training by means of prolonged exposure to obsessions is a valuable treatment but not the panacea for the treatment of obsessional ruminations.