Background: While effective treatments, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure and response prevention (ERP), have helped many OCD and BDD patients. Still about half of patients continue to experience symptoms or relapse after treatment. An additional target for treatment could be adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s), which can shape maladaptive schemas and personality traits that might hinder usual treatment. This study will investigates the effect of Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) on core beliefs, obsessions, and compulsions in patients with OCD and BDD.
Methods: This ImRs study employs a Multiple-Baseline Single-Case Experimental Design and is conducted at the department of psychiatry of the Amsterdam UMC. We aim to recruit minimal 30 participants, 15 patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and 15 patients with Body Dysmorphic Disorder. All patient will follow a 16 session protocolized treatment based on Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) of past and future adverse events. primary outcomes are core beliefs and symptoms. Secondary outcomes include insight, mood, schemas and modes, core emotions, strength of affect and obtrusiveness of intrusions.