Technology-based CBT in Reducing Symptoms of OCD in Children: A Systematic Review

Background: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder affecting up to 3% of children and adolescent in the United States. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line treatment for mild to moderate OCD in children. Despite the benefits of CBT in treatment of OCD, only one-third of clinicians regularly use CBT compared to psychotropic medication due to lack of access. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased relapses in OCD severity and further limited access to traditional face-to-face CBT treatment due to health and safety precautions. Purpose: This systematic review aims to demonstrate the efficacy of technology-based CBT by evaluating results of clinical trials and its comparability to traditional CBT methods. Methods: An evidence-based search was conducted using terms such as “Obsessive-Compulsive disorder” AND “ internet” AND “cognitive behavior therapy” and “children”. A total of 716 articles were identified. Results: After screening titles, abstracts, and full articles for relevance, 7 studies with a total of 254 subjects and four different programs involving technology-based CBT were included in this systematic review. Information gathered in this review support the use of technology-based CBT as an effective treatment in reducing the severity of OCD symptoms as shown by statistically significant reductions in Children Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale scores. Additionally, the results from this review support previous clinical studies demonstrating that effects of technology-based CBT were non-inferior to traditional CBT methods. Conclusion: The results of this systematic review support the use of technology-based CBT for the treatment of OCD in children and adolescents, especially in times where access to in-person therapist sessions are not possible due to geographical or global concerns. Additional research is needed to understand the impact and acceptability of new CBT methods on daily-life as well as the effectiveness of technology-based methods on more severe cases of OCD.