In this method, to provide competition to the existing negative<unk> s typical of OCD (e.g. cancer = death), alternative neutral or positive<unk> s are strengthened or newly established (e.g., cancer = zodiac sign). The strengthening of neutral or positive<unk> s is aimed to weaken dysfunctional<unk> s (fan-effect) in order to attenuate compulsive urges (e.g., washing, checking). The technique is based on semantic network models as well as studies showing that mental<unk> s in patients with OCD are restricted to the obsessive-compulsive meaning. A systematic review found evidence for the efficacy of the technique. The manual for the technique is available online in seven languages. A short instruction of the technique as well as a related method (attention<unk> , which aims to attenuate the over-focusing of external stimuli, is part of a metacognitive self-help (myMCT), which leads to a significant improvement of OCD symptoms according to a meta-analysis.
Association splitting
Normalization model
Forced normalization
Stratification 
Time trade-off
Absolute threshold
Independent SAGE
Mutual standardisation