Cognitive behavioral therapy practices in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in China

In 2014, a team of psychiatrists from Mainland China jointly published the “Guideline of Compulsive Disorders Diagnosis and Treatment” (1). Shortly thereafter, the “Guide to the Prevention and Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in China” was published. It recommends cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as the first line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Although therapists and psychiatrists have been trying to treat OCD with CBT ever since CBT was introduced in China in the 1980s, these position papers—which are consistent with recommendations in the United States and Europe (2)—drew greater attention to the need to promote access to this intervention.