Digital Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive‐compulsive disorder is a disabling psychiatric condition characterized bypersistent obsessions, compulsions, or both. Although pharmacological treatment andcognitive behavioral interventions are effective for many patients, some individualscontinue to experience residual symptoms, poor treatment adherence, limited access topsychotherapy, or difficulty tolerating intensive symptom‐focused interventions.Digital mindfulness‐based therapy may provide a more accessible and standardizedpsychological intervention. The intervention used in this study is a 6‐week structuredprogram delivered through a mobile mini‐program. It includes psychoeducation, guidedvideo and audio lessons, mindfulness meditation practices, supervised weekly learning,and home practice. The course covers mindful breathing, body scan, mindful movement,awareness of thoughts and emotions, acceptance‐based practices, and compassion‐relatedexercises.Eligible participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to digitalmindfulness‐based therapy, routine pharmacological treatment, or digitalmindfulness‐based therapy combined with routine pharmacological treatment. Clinical andpsychological assessments will be conducted at baseline, weekly during the 6‐weekintervention, and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the intervention.The primary clinical outcome will be the change in obsessive‐compulsive symptom severitymeasured using the Yale‐Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale from baseline to the end of the6‐week intervention. Repeated assessments during treatment and follow‐up will be used toexamine symptom trajectories and the maintenance of treatment effects. Secondarypsychological outcomes will include changes in mindfulness, thought‐action fusion,self‐compassion, depression, anxiety, and other related psychological characteristics.Heart rate variability will be assessed at baseline and weekly during the 6‐weekintervention using time‐domain, frequency‐domain, and nonlinear measures to examinechanges in autonomic nervous system regulation. Electroencephalography will be collectedat baseline, at the end of the 6‐week intervention, and at the 3‐month and 6‐monthfollow‐up assessments. Electroencephalographic measures will include the mean amplitudeand latency of the N200 and P300 event‐related potential components. These measures willbe used to explore psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms associated withimprovement in obsessive‐compulsive symptoms.