Biological approach to treating OCD

What does antidepressants do?

Affect levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin

What does SSRIs do?

It increases levels of serotonin at the synapse by preventing reuptake of serotonin

For instance Fluoxetine

What did Soomro’s clinical trial find about effectiveness of SSRIs?

SSRIs more effective than placebo in 17 trials

Symptoms reduced for 70% of people taking SSRIs

Why is the use of a drug trial a strength?

They are well controlled experiments which use random allocation, so we can be confident about cause and effect of the drug causing the improvements

What are some side effects of SSRIs that make it an inappropriate treatment?

-weight gain

-low sex drive

-dry mouth

What are some ways that SSRIs are appropriate?

-drugs are easy to administer and don’t require time off work like CBT

-cheap for NHS than paying for a clinical psychologist, more effective for economy as help people return to work quicker