Drug therapy evaluation

• What are the strengths of drug therapy?

  1. Drug therapy is an effective treatment for OCD.
  2. Drugs are cost effective and not disruptive to patients lives.
• What is a weakness of drug therapy?

  Drugs can have side effects and coming off of them can take time.
• What is a strength of drug therapy?

  One strength of biological treatments comes from research support for their effectiveness. Randomised drug trials compare the effectiveness of SSRI's and a drug with no pharmological value, called a placebo. Soomro et al (2008) found SSRI's were significantly more effective. This supports the use of biological treatments, however studies like this are criticised for only concluding short term effectiveness.
• What is a weakness of drug therapy?

  Drug treatments are criticised for treating the symptoms of OCD but not the underlying cause. Although SSRI's work by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain, which reduces anxiety and alleviates the symptoms of OCD, it does not treat the cause. Furthermore, patients are prone to relapse. Koran et al (2007) suggest psychological treatments such as CBT may be a more effective, long-term solution.