(PS5-48) Preliminary Effectiveness Results from an Intensive Outpatient Program for Adolescents with Anxiety and Obsessive-compulsive Disorders

Existing research on intensive outpatient programs (IOP) for adolescent anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is limited. Such programs fill an important niche in treating youth with severe symptoms who do not qualify for inpatient care. We present an overview of a 6-week  IOP for adolescents (ages 12 – 18), which was developed using evidence-based treatment models modified for intensive group-based implementation. The program involves adolescent and parent components, and primarily incorporates exposure with response prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and a parent-based intervention to reduce family accommodation of anxiety and OCD. We present preliminary parent and adolescent data collected at pre- and post-completion of the IOP. Though we had limited statistical power, paired-sample t-tests showed significant reductions across most outcome measures. Adolescents self-reported a significant reduction in overall anxiety, as measured using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED; n = 41; t(40) = 4.55, p < .001, d = 0.96), and anxiety-related life impairment using the Child Anxiety Life Interference Scale (CALIS; n = 31; t(30) = 3.67, p < .001, d = 0.66). Parent-report total SCARED scores also decreased significantly (n = 38; t(37) = 5.09, p < .001, d = 1.09) as did their CALIS scores (n = 31; t(30) = 4.48, p < .001, d = 1.15). Additionally, although the program primarily targets anxiety and OCD, changes in depression were assessed using the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ). Both adolescents (t(40) = 4.03, p < .001, d = 0.63) and parents (t(37) = 5.38, p < .001, d = 0.87) reported significant decrease in depression severity at post-treatment. Patients with OCD were also administered the Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale- second edition (CYBOCS-II) to measure severity of obsessive and compulsive symptoms pre- and post-treatment. Results indicated the reduction in symptom severity was not significant (n = 17; t(16) =1.34, p = .100), though re-analysis is warranted with an increased sample size. Taken together, the results of this preliminary effectiveness study are encouraging. Further evaluation of the IOP is warranted.