Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy delivered by telephone with the same therapy given face to face in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder.
Design: Randomised controlled non-inferiority trial.
Setting: Two psychology outpatient departments in the United Kingdom.
Participants: 72 patients with obsessive compulsive disorder.
Intervention: 10 weekly sessions of exposure therapy and response prevention delivered by telephone or face to face.
Main outcome measures: Yale Brown obsessive compulsive disorder scale, Beck depression inventory, and client satisfaction questionnaire.
Results: Difference in the Yale Brown obsessive compulsive disorder checklist score between the two treatments at six months was -0.55 (95% confidence interval -4.26 to 3.15). Patient satisfaction was high for both forms of treatment.
Conclusion: The clinical outcome of cognitive behaviour therapy delivered by telephone was equivalent to treatment delivered face to face and similar levels of satisfaction were reported.
Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN500103984 [controlled-trials.com].