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Treatment of Obsessions: Relevant v. Irrelevant Exposure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Paul M. G. Emmelkamp  and
Piet Giesselbach
Paul M. G. Emmelkamp
Affiliation:
Academic Hospital, Department of Clinical Psychology, Groningen, The Netherlands
Piet Giesselbach
Affiliation:
Academic Hospital, Department of Clinical Psychology, Groningen, The Netherlands
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Extract

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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , October 1981 , pp. 322 - 329
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1981

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