biological approach to treating phobias

• drug therapy?

  treatment involving drugs i.e. chemicals that have a particular effect on the functioning of the brain or some other body system.
• strength of drug treatment for OCD?

  P - good evidence for its effectiveness

  E - clear evidence to show that SSRIs reduce symptom severity and improve the quality of life for people with OCD.

  E - Soomro et al reviewed 17 studies that compared SSRIs to placebos in the treatment of OCD. all 17 studies showed significantly better outcomes for SSRIs than placebo conditions. typically symptoms reduce for around 70% of people taking SSRIs and 30% most can be helped by either alternative drugs or combinations of drugs and psychological therapies.

  L - drugs appear to be helpful for most people with OCD
• counterpoint for strength of drug treatment for OCD?

  P - evidence suggesting that even if drug treatments are helpful for most people with OCD they may not be the most effective treatments available.

  E - skapinakis et al carried out a systematic review of outcome studies and concluded that both cognitive and behavioural therapies were more effective than SSRIs in the treatment of OCD.

  L - drugs may not be the optimum treatment for OCD.
• another strength of drugs?

  P - cost effective and non-disruptive to peoples lives.

  E - cheap compared to psychological treatments because many thousands of tablets or liquid doses can be manufactured in the time it takes to conduct one session of a psychological therapy. using drugs to treat OCD is good value for public health systems like the NHS and represents a good use of limited funds. SSRIs are also non disruptive to peoples lives. if you wish you can simply take drugs until your symptoms decline. this is quite different from psychological therapy which involves time spent attending therapy sessions.

  L - drugs are popular with many people with OCD and their doctors
• limitation for drug treatments for OCD ?

  P - serious side effects

  E - small minority will get no effect. some people also experience side effects such as indigestion and blurred vision. usually temporary however they can be quite distressing for people and for a minority they're long lasting.

  E - more than 1 in 10 people experience erection problems and weight gain, 1 in 100 become aggressive and experience heart related problems

  L - some people have a reduced quality of life as a result of taking drugs and may stop taking them altogether meaning the drugs cease to be effective