Dial-a-shrink offers therapy in the comfort of your own home

Touch tone therapy has arrived in Britain. No waiting lists, no early morning appointments; just pick up the telephone, key in your PIN number and settle down for a session.

The techno-treatment for Obsessional Compulsive Disorder (OCD) means that the stress of sharing one's innermost fears with a real human being is replaced by a less demanding relationship - with a computer.

According to Dr Oscar Meehan, the psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital, in south London, who is responsible for co-ordinating the new dial-a-shrink service, the series of conversations with a computerised voice has the same success rate as a costly course of face-to-face counselling.

Of the 73 patients in the UK who have undergone the telephonic treatment, 80 per cent report themselves to be improved or much improved. One 47- year-old woman with a 39-year history of OCD has apparently watched her condition drop from severe to mild after just three weeks of calls.

The computer program is entitled BT Steps (with the BT standing for Behavioural Therapy), was devised by British and American psychologists. Their highly pragmatic alternative to conventional behaviour therapy takes three and a half months, during which time the patient can ring up the therapist as often as is required, at any time of the day or night.

The calls are free on the NHS and nothing is too much trouble for the soothing American at the other end of the phone. "Hello," he says, in the same, cheery fashion. "Welcome to BT Steps. Please enter your identification number using the number keys on your phone ..."

From there, the patient can dictate the course of the session. There are nine "calls", or steps, in total, but they can be worked through at any pace. "You are currently on call three. Would you like to do this call now? If you would like to do this call now, press one. If not, press two."

As many as 1.75 million of the British population suffers from OCD, of which 10 per cent of cases are severe. Behaviour Therapy itself is nothing new for OCD, a syndrome marked by rituals and obsessions.

Sufferers first learn to spot whatever sets off their obsessions and rituals and then learn to face those triggers without becoming obsessive.

One advantage of the telephonic treatment is the reduction in waiting lists - British sufferers currently have to wait around 12 months for treatment.

Another is that it is tailor-made for anyone who can't meet a therapist in person. "You can do it from home and you don't have to make an appointment," enthuses Dr Meehan. "You can do it over the weekend, in the evenings; whenever you are free."

Common OCD rituals include endlessly washing one's hands, checking the front door is locked 20 times before leaving the house, and hoarding rubbish. Repeatedly telephoning one's therapist is not, apparently, a potential problem.