OCD-Eval of treatments for ocd

Question 1

one strength of SSRI’s is that they have shown to be EFFECTIVE.

Answer 1

Soomro et al reviewed studies comparing SSRI’s to placebos and in all 17 studies, SSRI’s showed BETTER results than the placebos which shows that they are an EFFECTIVE treatment for OCD.

HOWEVER, the effectiveness is GREATEST when combined with psychological treatment (CBT) Therefore, it has been shown that an INTERACTIONIST approach of drug therapy wit CBT would be MORE Effective. This shows support for drug therapy but not on it’s OWN, but with other therapies to MAXIMISE effectiveness.

Question 2

One weakness of drug therapy is that it may have SIDE-EFFECTS

Answer 2

SSRI’s may lead to indigestion, blurred vision. Tricyclics can lead to more SERIOUS side effects e.g. 1 in 10 can get TREMORS and 1 in 100 become AGGRESSIVE.

The problem here is that these side effects may STOP people from taking the drugs or take it upon themselves to REDUCE the dose and so LOWER the effectiveness of drug therapy in treating ocd.

Question 3

One issue with drug therapy 9SSRI’s) as a treatment for ocd is that it is biological reductionist

Answer 3

This is because it takes the COMPLEX issue of treating ocd and reduces it to just raising serotonin. This could be an issue as it may MISS other factors that could be used to help treat ocd, as ocd is down to a RANGE of other causes e.g. life events. Which suggests that psychotherapy should be used o ADDRESS these events, possibly in conjunction with SSRI, as that alone would not suffice.

Therefore it could be suggested that an INTERACTIONIST approach should ve taken instead wehre raising serotonin levels may be sseen as ONE method of treating ocd and not the main or only one.

Question 4

One strength of drug therapy is that it is CHEAP compared to psychological treatments.

Answer 4

This is a strength as it has POSITIVE implications for the ECONOMY. E.g. saving money for the NHS and it also means people can get back to WORK and contribute to the economy again.

Also, UNLIKE psychotherapy, drugs aren’t disruptive to patients lives as they just need to take the drug as opposed to attending LONG therapy sessions. Therefore they may be more LIKELY to engage with drug therapy, ENABLING it to be a more effective therapy for OCD.