Biological Approach: Treating OCD Flashcards
What are the aims of drug therapy for OCD?
-To increase/decrease the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain to increase/decrease their activity
-Low levels of serotonin is associated with OCD so drugs increase serotonin levels
What are SSRI’s (Anti-depressant)?
-Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors
-Most commonly used drug associated with anxiety and OCD
-Drugs worm ton increase levels of serotonin to normalise worry circuits
How do SSRI’s work?
-Serotonin is released into a synapse from 1 neuron
-Targets receptor cells on receiving neuron or receptor site
-Then reabsorbed by the giver neuron that sent the message
-SSRI’s stop the Re-uptake by the giver neuron to increase serotonin intake by the taker neuron
-This compensates for whatever is wrong in the serotonin system for OCD people
What are Anti-Anxiety drugs?
-Benzodiazepine (BZ) are commonly used to reduce anxiety
-BZ’s slow down activity of the CNS by enhancing the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA
-GABA quietens effect on many neurons in the brain when released
-GABA flows chloride ions into the neuron making it harder for the neuron to be stimulated thus making the individual feel more relaxed
What are 2 strengths of drug treatments?
Effectiveness
-Clear evidence supporting the use of SSRI’s in reducing the severity of symptoms of OCD and improving quality of life
-Study compared SSRI’s to placebos and found significantly better results to those on SSRI’s
This shows drug treatments for OCD are an effective form of treatments for the disorder
Time and cost
-Drugs are generally cheap on the NHS and are fast acting
-SSRI’s are also no disruptive to patients lives
Taking drugs to treat symptoms may be better in the first few months then engage in a CBT course
What are 2 weaknesses to drug treatments?
Responsibility
-Patient is responsible for their own recovery by remembering to take their medication
-Any improvements they want to see relies on them and other Treatments such as CBT may offer a more empowering result and gives the individuals the tools to recover and carry on with treatment
Symptoms
-Only treats symptoms and not the cause
-Once drugs run out, symptoms will reappear until they start more medication and these will never full remove symptoms
-Study showed that 45% patients relapsed after drug treatment compared to only 12% of CBT treated patients
This suggests drug treatments are not as effective as other treatments such as CBT as this provides longer lasting to permanent recovery
