Obsessive-compulsive disorder and its treatment: medication? Psychotherapy is the key

Treatment for this disorder is long-term, often lifelong.

It involves a combination of medication and cognitive behavioural therapy - psychotherapy that focuses on changing behaviour and habits.

Certain antidepressants that interfere with serotonin metabolism have been shown to have the best therapeutic effect, even though obsessive-compulsive disorder is not a depressive illness.

Effective antidepressants include so-called SSRIs - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

SSRIs increase deficient serotonin levels in the brain and help to restore chemical balance. SSRIs are well tolerated in most cases and have minimal side effects, which subside after a few weeks.

The most common side effects include sexual dysfunction, insomnia or digestive problems. The onset of action of antidepressants in OCD is slower than in depression and a higher dose is usually used.

Effectiveness of treatment

The effectiveness of treatment is assessed after the acute phase, that is, after 10-12 weeks of daily medication. If patients are not benefiting from SSRI treatment, other drugs such as clomipramine or venlafaxine are also used.

However, there are also more side effects with this group of drugs.

The treatment also includes various psychological sessions in which patients are exposed to a real anxiety situation without the possibility of performing a compulsive act. Through this method, they find that although they do not comply with their intrusive thoughts and fantasies, everything is still fine.

The therapy is invasive and usually involves one session once a week, for a duration of 13-20 weeks. However, there is another alternative, namely daily therapy sessions for 3 weeks.