The biological approach to treating OCD

AO1:
Drug therapy:
Drug therapy for mental disorders aims to decrease or increase the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain or to increase/decrease their activity. Low levels of serotonin are associated with OCD. Therefore drugs work in various ways to increase the level of serotonin in the brain.
Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). SSRI;s prevent reabsorption and breakdown of serotonin in the brain. This increases its levels in the synapse and thus serotonin continues to stimulate the postsynaptc neuron. This compensates for whatever is wrog with the serotonin system in ICD.
A typical dose of Fluozetine (an SSRI) is 20mg although this may be increased is it's not benefitting the patient. It takes 3-4 months of daily use for SSRIs to impact upon symptoms. This can be increased (e.g. 60mg a day) if this is approapraite.
Drugs are oftn used alongside CBT to treat OCD. The drugs reduce a patients emotional symptoms, such as feeling anxious or depressed. This means that patients can enage more effectively with CBT.
Alternatives to SSRis are Tricyclics (an older type of antidepressant), such as Clomipramine. These have the same effect on the serotonin system as SSRIs but the ide-effects can be more severe.
In the last 5 years a different class of antidepressant drugs called serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRIs) has also been used to treat OCD. Like Tricyclics these are a second line…

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