Bio approach to treating ocd

Question 1

Effectiveness- research support

Answer 1

Supporting research comes from Pigott and Seay (1999) who reviewed studies testing the effectiveness of drug therapies and found SSRI’s to be consistently effective in reducing OCD symptoms. Soomro (2008) reviewed 17 studies of the use of SSRIs with OCD patients and found them to be more effective than placebos in reducing the symptoms of OCD up to three months after treatment. Typically, symptoms decline significantly for around 70% of
patients taking SSRIs. Of the remaining 30% alternative drug treatments or combinations of
drugs and psychological treatments will be effective for some. Therefore, showing that drugs can help most patients with OCD.

Question 2

Not lasting cure (effectiveness)

Answer 2

– Drug therapy is possibly treating the symptoms of OCD, rather than the cause. Although SSRIs work by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain, which reduces anxiety and alleviates the symptoms of OCD, once a patient stops taking the drug, they are prone to relapse. Koran et al. (2007) suggests that psychological treatments such as CBT may be a more effective long-term solution to provide a lasting treatment and a potential cure. This suggests that although drugs are most used, psychotherapies such as CBT should be tried

Question 3

appropriateness- side effects (unlike psych therapies with have no side effects)

Answer 3

Drug therapy is not appropriate for all patients with OCD as some may suffer from side effects. Common side effects when taking SSRI’s include nausea, headache, insomnia, loss of sex drive, indigestion and blurred vision. Possible side effects of BZs are aggressiveness, long term impairment of memory and addiction. Side effects reduce the effectiveness of the drug because people might stop taking the medication. Psychological therapies may be a more appropriate choice of therapy for those who experience side effects from drug therapy. Greist has found that ERPT (exposure and ritual prevention therapy) was just as effective a treatment for OCD as drugs and did not have the side effects and high relapse rates associated with drug
treatment.