Intensive treatment for OCD – B4DT

Can the Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT) provide a faster and equally effective alternative to traditional CBT for OCD?

Four-day Intensive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for adults with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – A single blind randomized controlled non-inferiority trial

We are conducting a randomized controlled trial to test the non-inferiority, speed of recovery, and cost-effectiveness of Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), comparing it to gold-standard cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). While CBT with exposure and response prevention (ERP) is widely recognized as an effective first-line treatment for OCD, its typical 3-4 month duration means that about half of patients still experience impairment after treatment.

B4DT, developed by Gerd Kvale and Bjarne Hansen from Bergen, offers a concentrated treatment approach where patients receive ERP over four consecutive days at a clinic. Preliminary evidence suggests that B4DT achieves remission in around 70% of patients based on several uncontrolled trials and one randomized controlled trial involving self-help and waitlist groups.

Despite these promising results, B4DT has not yet been directly compared to traditional gold-standard CBT. This study aims to fill that gap, evaluating whether B4DT can offer a similarly effective or better alternative with a more efficient treatment timeframe.

Group members involved in the project

Sofia Dahlén, David Mataix-Cols, Filipa Sampaio, Sofia Asplund among others also participate in the project.