ZeroOCD

Capitalizing on ground-breaking AR technology, the proposed project entitled AR-CBT for OCD provides an accessible, scalable, and low-cost therapy solution for a disorder that comes with pervasive stigma, namely obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). AR-CBT for OCD takes the next step in eMental health, namely an (semi-)automated Augmented Reality (AR) Cognitive Behaviour Treatment (CBT) delivered via an app for mobile devices that patients can follow in the convenience of their own home and in their own time and that requires only minimal (digital) therapist support.

Our treatment, ZeroOCD, which only requires a smartphone in terms of hardware, could provide an effective and scalable treatment that can simply be downloaded from the app store. Furthermore, beyond developing an encompassing therapy to effectively treat a burdensome, severe disorder, AR-CBT for OCD provides a template for the treatment of other mental health disorders. The economical knowledge gained from the proposed project, along with the strategies recommended for implementation, has the potential to realize step-changes in the provision of cost-effective evidence-based scalable mental healthcare and relieve pressure on health and care facilities.

Funding and partners

ZeroOCD has received funding from NWO, ZonMw, Forte and SNSF under the framework of the co-fund partnership of Transforming Health and Care Systems, THCS, (GA N° 101095654 of the EU Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme).