ECO Trial
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The ECO Trial: EMDR vs CBT in OCD
IRAS ID
137338
Contact name
Jaime Delgadillo
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust
Research summary
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is the 4th most common mental disorder and is in the top ten most disabling conditions described by the World Health Organisation. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the only well-established psychological treatment recommended by national guidelines (NICE 2005) and currently offered to patients in a primary care setting. In spite of the strong evidence favouring CBT, only about 1 in 2 patients tend to considerably benefit from treatment and many patients tend to drop-out. There is some early and tentative evidence that another psychological treatment called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) may be an effective treatment for OCD, therefore potentially increasing choice of treatment for patients who struggle with the CBT approach. These studies, however, are small and limited, so further research is necessary to explore the potential benefits of EMDR in this patient group.
This study aims to compare CBT and EMDR using a randomised trial design, where patients with OCD will be randomly assigned to one of these treatments. We plan to compare the effects of these treatments by way of symptom reductions measured using a validated OCD questionnaire. We plan to recruit patients seeking treatment in routine primary care mental health IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies)teams in Leeds. The treatments will be delivered by qualified CBT and EMDR therapists working as part of the local IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) partnership. The study is expected to last 2 years.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/YH/0338
Date of REC Opinion
23 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion