Short communication : a report of the first twelve months of an early intervention service for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Objectives: To present a report on the first twelve months of an early intervention service for patients with obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Methods: Demographic and clinical data including changes in the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory – Revised (OCI-R) were reported for 48 patients referred to the Western Sydney Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders Service during the first 12 months of its operation. Results: The service provided education, training and specialised quaternary level assessment and recommendations to patients who have already been assessed by a psychiatrist and/or mental health worker within early intervention teams for psychosis, anxiety clinics and other public psychiatric services. The service failed to reach OCD sufferers early in their course of illness with the mean time from symptom onset being 9.4 years. The use of objective measures such as the Y-BOCS and OCI-R at follow-up was poor and 86.0% (n = 37) remained in treatment at 12 months. Conclusions: An early intervention service for OCD is unlikely to be able to assist sufferers early in their course of illness if it is associated with quaternary clinical services or early intervention programmes for psychosis. Efforts might be better focused on providing education and on early screening of young people in non-clinical settings.