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Behavioral Therapy Beneficial for Obsessive Compul
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Parents of those with obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, can rest a little easier today. Research published in the Cochrane review, the British think-tank that reviews the scientific literature, shows that behavioral therapy is better than taking medicines alone for improving this condition.
Obessive compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder that affects between 1 to 4% of children. It presents with intrusive thoughts such as fears of being harmed or getting sick. Those with compulsions feel the need to perform specific activities such as frequently washing hands or checking locked doors.
Behavioral therapy and some anti-depressants have been recommended for this condition. Behavioral therapy involves exposure to the anxiety-causing situation and prevention of the compulsion. When it is noted that the anticipated negative outcome doesn’t occur, the level of anxiety around this event becomes minimized and the activity is less likely to occur.
To perform their study, the researchers reviewed the literature and identified 4 high quality studies that evaluated both behavioral therapy and medications for the treatment of OCD. Collectively, these studies evaluated over 200 children and adolescent with this condition.
The results showed that behavioral therapy alone with or without antidepressant SSRIs such as Zoloft and Luvox was better than medication alone. Collectively, the studies showed that 40 to 80% fewer children had OCD after behavioral treatment. Behavioral interventions in the studies ranged from 12 to 20 sessions, each for 60 to 90 minutes. The investigators noted that only about 1 in 10 patients dropped out of behavioral therapy.
Overall, behavioral therapy, with or without medications, should be considered for OCD.
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