Storch (2015) OCD

Question 1

Notes

Answer 1

• Different symptom dimensions (e.g. hoarding) have been associated with differential responses to therapeutic interventions
• Definitive etiological account of OCD remains elusive
• Cognitive behavioural model
o Classical conditioning: pairing of obsessions with compulsions
o Operant conditioning: contributes to symptom maintenance
• Comorbid disorders: externalising disorders have been associated with attenuated response to both CBT and pharmacotherapy in paediatric OCD
• OCD CBT: large effect sizes
o Cohen’s d 0.70-2-76 for children
o Cohen’s d 0.49-3.78 for adults
• SSRI medication for OCD: modest effect sizes
o Cohen’s d 0.36-0.61 for children
o Cohen’s d 0.37-1.09 for adults
o Symptoms often return upon discontinuation of medication
• Challenges
o Limited number of therapists trained to treat OCD (presumably in US)
o New therapeutic approaches for non-responders to traditional CBT are required