EFFECTIVENESS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENTS FOR OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER - A QUANTITATIVE REVIEW

Quantitative review of the controlled treatment outcome literature for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) showed that exposure with respons e prevention was highly effective in reducing OCD symptoms. Cognitive approaches were also found to be at least as effective as exposure pro cedures. It appears that both cognitive and exposure interventions inv olve some overlapping procedures and capitalize on similar mechanisms of change. Serotonergic medication, particularly clomipramine, also su bstantially reduced OCD symptoms. However, clomipramine may not be par ticularly superior to other serotonergic medication. The relationship between side effects and effect size in medication trials was explored .