Parent-based treatment for pediatric OCD

Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE): an Innovative Parent-based Treatment for Children With Obsessive-compulsive Disorder

This study is testing a new parenting program to see if it can help children aged 7 to 18 with OCD feel better by teaching their parents how to support them without needing the child's cooperation.

Quick facts

• Phase: NA
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 25 (estimated)
• Ages: 7 Years to 18 Years
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Academisch Medisch Centrum - Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC-UvA) (other)
• Locations: 1 site (Amsterdam)
• Trial ID: NCT06356090 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

This study investigates the effectiveness of SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), a parent-based treatment designed to reduce family accommodation and OCD symptoms in children aged 7 to 18 who have not benefited from first-line treatments. The approach focuses on teaching parents to modify their behaviors to support their child better, without requiring the child's cooperation. The study aims to include 25 children with complex OCD, their parents, and teachers to assess the treatment's impact and explore mechanisms of change in OCD symptoms.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates are children aged 7 to 18 who meet DSM-5 criteria for OCD and have not benefited from previous psychological treatments.

Not a fit: Patients who have not been diagnosed with OCD or those who have not experienced high levels of family accommodation may not benefit from this study.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this treatment could significantly improve the quality of life for children with OCD by reducing symptoms and family accommodation.

How similar studies have performed: While the approach of addressing family accommodation in OCD treatment is gaining attention, this specific parent-based intervention is relatively novel and has not been extensively tested in previous studies.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* The child ages between 7 - 18 years old
* The child meets the DSM-5 criteria for OCD (as primary classification)
* The child did not benefit from psychological treatment for OCD (either followed 8 to 12 sessions of CBT or other psychotherapy), aborted treatment early or was unable/not motivated to receive treatment due to high levels of anxiety/OCD)
* At time of baseline still meets the clinical cut-off of 16 or higher for OCD on the Child Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale \[CY-BOCS\].
* Psychiatric comorbidity is allowed, provided that OCD is the primary treatment target
* Parents report high levels of Family Accommodation (FA) at time of baseline (meeting the cut-off of 10 or higher on the Family Accommodation Scale Anxiety \[FASA\])
* Medication use is allowed. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) use (for OCD symptoms) is allowed as well, provided that the medication regime has been stable 4 weeks prior to participation and remains unchanged during participation.

Exclusion Criteria:

* The child needs inpatient treatment
* Acute suicidality
* Psychotic symptoms
* No participating parents
* Parents have insufficient mastery of the Dutch language
* Parents or child have an estimated IQ below 75

Where this trial is running

Amsterdam

• Amsterdam UMC / Levvel (Academic centre for child & adolescent psychiatry) — Amsterdam, Netherlands (RECRUITING)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: C. Huijser, Dr. — Amsterdam UMC / Levvel
• Study coordinator: J.D.K. Veeger, MSc

Conditions: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Children, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Adolescence, Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms, SPACE, Family Accommodation, OCD, Anxiety