Alternative Therapies for OCD

The paper then examines the research investigating the effects of diverse alternative therapies and interventions in the treatment of the disorder. The review ends with a summary of major findings and the presentation of a series of conclusions about alternative treatments for OCD formulated on the basis of the reviewed research.

OCD: Definition, Diagnostic Criteria, and Prevalence

OCD is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive or uncontrollable thoughts (obsessions), or the need to perform specific acts repeatedly (compulsions), or both (Sue, Sue & Sue, 1994). The American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV, 1994) lists the diagnostic criteria for the disorder as:

A. Either Obsessions or Compulsions

Obsessions as defined by (1), (2), (3) and (4)

(1) Recurrent persistent thoughts, impulses or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate, and that cause marked anxiety or distress.

(2) The thought, impulses, or images are not simply excessive worries about

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ade, it would be rigidly followed, without any further consideration of the prior conflict surrounding it. However, the observed relationship was relatively weak, with only four percent of the variance explained. No main effects or interactions were found for the reversibility variable. The Biogenetic Model Biogenetic models of obsessive compulsive disorder (e.g., Bower, 1987; Hoehn-Saric, Pearlson, Harris, Machlin & Camargo, 1991) state that the condition is the result of brain structure, genetic, and/or biochemical abnormalities. For example, studies have found differences in brain activity between OCD patients and non-psychiatric patients (Bower, 1987). Further, OCD patients have higher than normal glucose metabolism in the frontal lobes (Hoehn-Saric et. al, 1991). Genetic involvement in OCD is suggested by family and twin studies. In this regard, Black, Noyes, Goldstein and Blum (1992) observed that first degree relatives of OCD patients more frequently are diagnosed with anxiety disorders than first degree relatives of psychiatrically normal controls. Furthermore, it has been found that the relatives of OCD patients are twice as likely to have a neurotic disorder than are relatives of a matched control group (McK
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Approximate Word count = 9210
Approximate Pages = 37 (250 words per page)