psycho. drug treatments for OCD

Question 1

STRENGTH,HAMBURGER, SUPPORTING EVIDENCE FOR SSRI

Answer 1

There is clear evidence of SSRI’S in reducing the severity of OCD symptoms so improve the life of OCD patients.
For example, Soomro et al (2009) found drugs were more effective than placebos in reducing symptoms in 17 studies that were reviewed.
This suggests that drugs cannot help most patients with drugs.

Question 2

STRENGTH, DOUBLE WHOPPER, DRUGS ARE CPOST EFFECTIVE

Answer 2

Drug therapy needs little input/effort from the user and is cost-effective.
For example, psychological therapies like CBT are time-consuming. They also require the person attend regular meetings and think about tackling their problem.
SSRI’s are non-disruptive to patients’ lives in comparison and require no therapist so are cheaper.
This means that drug therapies are more economical for the public health sector.

Question 3

LIMITATION, DOUBLE WHOPPER, NOT LONG TERM

Answer 3

Drugs are not a long-lasting cure for people suffering with OCD.
Even though drugs are cost-effective in the short term, Maina et al (2001) found that patients relapsed within a week of treatment stopping.
This suggests that patients should try psychological therapies and then drug treatments to treat OCD.
This means that drugs are only a temporary solution and you actually need psychotherapy for longer-lasting effects.

Question 4

LIMITATION, DOUBLE WHOPPER, EFFECTIVENESS EXXAGERATED

Answer 4

The effectiveness of drugs may be exaggerated by publication bias towards studies showing drugs have a positive effect.
For example, Turner et al found that studies showing positive results were more likely to be published than negative in journals.
Drug companies are obviously interested in continual success for drugs so fund a lot of research into their effectiveness.
Selective publication 0f research may lead doctors to make inappropriate treatment decisions abt treating OCD.
This questions whether drugs are the best treatment fir OCD.