ABSTRACT
Two OCD (DSM-III) patients with marked checking rituals who had not improved after much ftf guidance in exposure and ritual prevention improved when they were given OCCheck to use on a laptop computer at home and on a handheld (palmtop) computer carried outside the home in order to facilitate compliance (Table 3.1: Baer et al., 1987, 1988). They worsened when they did not use the computers and improved again on reinstating use of the computer. Two other patients refused to use OCCheck.
This is an interactive-voice-response (IVR) system which OCD patients reach by phoning a toll-free number to a computer while looking at an accompanying workbook. The 800 or so voice ®les of BTSteps (BTS ) guide users to set and monitor individually tailored self-exposure and ritual prevention (ERP) homework, keep a diary, make baseline and later ratings, get feedback on progress, deal with dif®culties, and prevent relapse. BTS assumes an understanding/reading age of 11. BTS has been the subject of three open studies and two RCTs. Several studies were completed of BTS's phone-IVR + workbook version in OCD patients in the UK, USA and Canada in varying proportions across different trials. An even more convenient internet version (OCFighter) using BTS's phone-IVR algorithms will soon allow home access with no need for printed booklets and phone-IVR calls.
