A documentary following some of the first New Zealanders to undergo an intensive four-day treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) will premiere across the country next month.

Exposure is a 50-minute documentary filmed during the first two New Zealand rounds of the Bergen Four-Day Treatment, an intensive programme designed to help people confront OCD through carefully supported exposure therapy.

The film will premiere in Auckland on August 21, followed by screenings in Wellington and Christchurch.

The fundraising screenings are being hosted by Open Closed Doors, a New Zealand charity working to make effective OCD treatment more accessible and affordable.

Open Closed Doors clinical team lead and psychologist Emma Chapman said the charity wanted the treatment to eventually be available free through the public health system.

“Our aim is for treatment to be free through Te Whatu Ora,” Chapman said.

“Thankfully, we are making great inroads, but we need to continue pushing.”

The documentary follows young New Zealanders as they take part in the Bergen Four-Day Treatment and offers an intimate look at the courage required to face the fears, intrusive thoughts and compulsions associated with OCD.

Developed in Norway, the treatment is an intensive form of exposure and response prevention therapy. It is delivered in a small group while providing each participant with individual support from a therapist.

Chapman said, “Participants are supported to live life by their own rules instead of what OCD dictates.”

Open Closed Doors said Exposure told the story through the eyes of the young people who experienced the treatment, helping audiences understand both the impact of OCD and what it takes to challenge it.

Each screening will be followed by a 30-minute question and answer session featuring the documentary’s director and Open Closed Doors co-founder, psychologists from the charity’s clinical team and clients featured in the film.

The participants will share their experiences in person and answer questions about the treatment, the documentary and the realities of living with OCD.

Chapman, who is a senior psychologist, team leader and Open Closed Doors board member, is committed to making evidence-based OCD treatment timely, accessible and affordable.

The charity has received support from the Rātā Foundation and Wayne Francis Charitable Trust to deliver the treatment in Christchurch.

Earlier this year, the Christchurch programme received a $180,000 funding boost to provide treatment to 26 young people.

All proceeds from the documentary screenings will support Open Closed Doors’ work to improve services and treatment access for New Zealanders living with OCD.

The Christchurch screening will be held at The Piano at 6pm on Sunday, August 23.

Tickets are limited.

It will also screen on TV1 on Monday the 31st August.