Soomroetal (2009)- found that SSRI's were more effective than a placebo for 70% of ppts their symptoms decreased.
The other 30% were helped with alternative drugs + CBT.
Appropriate for patients and doctors
Drug treatment is cheap compared to
psychological therapy – so are goodvalue for
the NHS and drugs do not disrupt the patients’
lives i.e. no need to go to a regular therapy session. Drug treatments can also manage and
reduce symptoms and allow patients to go back
to work which benefits our economy.
Not effective due to side effects
Sideeffects of SSRIs include indigestion and
blurredvision - usually temporary.
SNRIs have more serious side effects 10% of patients experience tremors and weight gain. This may cause people to stoptaking the medication.
May not be appropriate to treat OCD by itself
If some cases of OCD are the response
to a traumatic life event, drug therapy
may treat the symptoms, but not the
cause of the disorder. To come to terms
with the trauma, the patient may need psychologicaltherapy.
