Bergen 4-Day Treatment<\/a>, will become part of the public health system.<\/p>\nThe four-day course of intensive exposure therapy currently costs thousands of dollars, but seven in ten participants report continued success a month after treatment.<\/p>\n
The treatment was developed in Norway, and was delivered for the first time in New Zealand to 17 young New Zealanders in Auckland in January.<\/p>\n
In May, 17-year-old Niamh Devlin was one of 25 young people taking part in New Zealand’s second ever Bergen 4-Day Treatment in Christchurch.<\/p>\n
Her OCD manifested as constant checking – on relationships, details, plans.<\/p>\n
Often, it would manifest as a need for neatness, cleanliness or order, or compulsions like turning light switches on and off or tapping objects a certain number of times, sometimes in fear of consequences like a loved-one dying.<\/p>\n
But Niamh constantly worried about getting sick, hurting others, losing friends, or not getting good enough grades.<\/p>\n
“Rumination,” she explained. “I’d be reading people’s emotions all the time, having to replay conversations in my head.”<\/p>\n
“I just thought it was normal to think that way, or do those things.”<\/p>\n
Strategies she had learned through weekly therapy sessions helped a little, but the Bergen course had been a game changer, she said.<\/p>\n
Day one was spent sharing experiences in groups. It was a validating experience to hear from others of a similar age who were experiencing the same feelings.<\/p>\n
Day two was exposure day, with participants putting themselves in situations where they were forced to confront their compulsions, with a psychologist next to them.<\/p>\n
One of Niamh’s tasks was to start conversations with strangers, something that would normally cause a lot of anxiety and overthinking.<\/p>\n
By the end of more than twenty conversations, she felt like anything was possible.<\/p>\n
“I realised that I am capable, and I can have a life without OCD.”<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4JN1D96_img_5698_jpeg_76e8cf_avif.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\nThe psychologists and observers during the first week of the Christchurch treatment (Emma Chapman pictured front right)
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n
Child psychologist Emma Chapman, clinical lead at the charity bringing the treatment to New Zealand, Open Closed Doors, said the results internationally spoke for themselves.<\/p>\n
The current gold standard for OCD treatment, Chapman explained, was an hour-long session of exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy a week. The remission rate for that kind of treatment was forty percent.<\/p>\n
By comparison, data from other countries where the Bergen treatment was common showed seven out of ten Bergen participants remained in remission three months on.<\/p>\n
Chapman said so far, 81 percent of their total of 43 participants across Auckland and Christchurch had shown a strong improvement in their symptoms within 10 days of completing the programme, and just over half had achieved remission.<\/p>\n
Early follow-up data suggested those improvements were largely maintained at three months, and no participants had dropped out of treatment to-date.<\/p>\n
Te Whatu Ora did not address specific questions about the Bergen treatment, but told RNZ it supported a range of support in treatment options in the community.<\/p>\n
Attending a Bergen treatment programme could cost between $6000 and $8000 per person, Chapman said.<\/p>\n
The goal of Open Closed Doors was for it to become part of the publicly funded system – as it was in its origin country Norway – and they were slowly training up clinicians and spreading the word.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, its website would in due course feature a list of B4DT-trained therapists who could see people one-on-one, and there would be further group treatment rounds this year in Christchurch for those aged 11 to 15, and Auckland for over-18s.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Niamh’s treatment, and that of eighteen others, was funded by donations from the R\u0101t\u0101 Foundation, which gave $120,000, and the Wayne Francis Charitable Trust, which gave $60,000.<\/p>\n
There had also been a large private donation from a family whose son had benefitted from the Auckland treatment earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The R\u0101t\u0101 Foundation’s head of community investment, Kate Sclater, said the investment aligned with their focus on removing barriers to effective mental health support and expanding access to a wider range of options, including innovative approaches.<\/p>\n
Jenn Chowaniec, general manager at Wayne Francis Charitable Trust, said it supported the initiative because the Bergen model offered an opportunity for treatment in an under-served area, as well as providing valuable insights and support for the wider mental health sector.<\/p>\n
“Our hope is that this initiative creates real improvements in accessibility to OCD treatment services that ultimately create lasting positive change for those who need it most,” she said.<\/p>\n
Niamh said it had made a huge difference in her own life.<\/p>\n
“Even by the first day I could really notice a difference, and I think now my family definitely can notice such a huge change,” she said. “Just happier and more carefree, really. I’ve learnt uncertainty is not your worst enemy – but the control OCD has is.”<\/p>\n
Sign up for Ng\u0101 Pitopito K\u014drero, a daily newsletter<\/a> curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Niamh Devlin, 17, was one of 25 young people taking part in New Zealand’s second ever Bergen 4-Day…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":868784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[36],"tags":[5157,3240,210,517,50,5158,5156,5154,5155,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-868783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-audio","tag-current-affairs","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-news","tag-podcasts","tag-public-radio","tag-radio-new-zealand","tag-rnz","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116753960412302643","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Niamh](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4JN0CRK_BERGENOCD_16x10_jpg.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n