Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Treatments

Medications

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) reduce OCD symptoms by affecting the neurotransmitter serotonin. This function is independent of their antidepressant effects. SSRIs include:

• Fluoxetine (Prozac)
• Fluvoxamine (Luvox)
• Paroxetine (Paxil)
• Sertraline (Zoloft)

***Please note FDA Public Health Advisory for Antidepressants:

The FDA advises that people taking antidepressants should be closely observed. For some, the medications have been linked to worsening symptoms and suicidal thoughts. These adverse effects are most common in young adults. The effects tend to occur at the beginning of treatment or when there is an increase or decrease in the dose. Although the warning is for all antidepressants, of most concern are the SSRI class such as:

• Prozac ( fluoxetine ), Zoloft ( sertraline ), Paxil ( paroxetine ), Luvox ( fluvoxamine ), Celexa ( citalopram ), Lexapro( escitalopram )

Other medications used include clomipramine (Anafranil) and clonazepam (Klonopin) . Clomipramine is a tricyclic antidepressant drug that alters serotonin levels. Clonzepam is a benzodiazepine that relieves anxiety.

Therapy

Behavioral therapy addresses the actions associated with OCD; cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) addresses both the thought processes and the actions associated with OCD.

Examples of therapies used to treat OCD include:

• Exposure and response prevention—helps you gradually confront the feared object or obsession without giving in to the compulsive ritual linked to it
  • In patients who are also taking SSRIs, this form of therapy may be more effective than stress management training. *¹
• Aversion therapy—use of painful stimulus to prevent OCD behavior
• Thought switching—patient learns to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts
• Flooding—intense exposure to object that causes OCD behavior
• Implosion therapy—repeated exposure to object that causes fear
• Thought stopping—patient learns to stop negative thoughts