Biological treatments of ocd

• Biological treatments of OCD

  Drug therapies which aim to increase the levels of serotonin in the brain
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's)


  A type of antidepressant that increase the availability of serotonin in the synapse
• How SSRI's work


  1. Preventing the reuptake of serotonin by the presynaptic neuron in the synaptic cleft

  2. Increasing the serotonin available to the postsynaptic neuron
• Research on effectiveness of SSRI's

  • Thoren et al found SSRI use was significantly better at reducing obsessional thoughts than a placebo
• Using other antidepressants that don't affect serotonin levels is inefficient at reducing OCD symptoms
• Advantages of drug therapy

  • Non disruptive to peoples lives as patients do not have to give up time to attend therapy
  • Patients are more likely to continue with their treatment and therefore see a reduction in their symptoms
• Research on relapse rates

  • Simpson (2004) found 45% of cases relapsed in 12 weeks with drug therapy, compared to only 12% with CBT