Mad in America published a summary of a recent study that surveyed people with OCD about treatment preferences. I spent the last hour trying to track down a copy of the actual research article, which has not been officially published yet, but I was unable to locate a pdf and read it myself.
One of the authors is Dr. Helen Blair Simpson, whose brief information video about OCD is a good one.
The study
The researchers surveyed 216 people with OCD about their treatment preferences. Most people preferred Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) as a 1st line treatment. The 2nd most popular treatment was serotonin reuptake inhibitors (i.e., antidepressants). Based on how the abstract was worded, there may be no statistically significant difference between preference for ERP (55%) and preference for antidepressants (45%).
Interestingly, people who preferred antidepressants were more likely to have higher income, private insurance, and a longer history of OCD treatment. According to the Mad in America article:
The researchers theorized that this may be due to this group having “received high-quality psychiatric care that afforded them the time and attention to discuss and resolve concerns about medication.” That is, people without these resources may have had poor experiences with medication management in which they felt pressured or their concerns were not heard. Psychotherapy may have provided an approach tailored to their individual concerns, making it more desirable.
People with OCD didn’t want antipsychotic drugs
People with OCD already taking antidepressant medication preferred ERP as an adjunct treatment over augmenting the antidepressant medication with an antipsychotic. In a prior post, I wrote about research that suggested that antipsychotics were not a useful adjunct treatment for OCD.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an evidence-based treatment that we offer, was also well received among alternatives to ERP and medications. In a prior blog I used to write for, I wrote about a study on the use of ACT for OCD without deliberate exposure, and OCD researcher Dr. Michael Twohig has a page about ACT and OCD on the IOCDF website.
One theme that stood out to me reading about the study was how well-informed the sample of people with OCD is. Their preferences are remarkably consistent with current research about OCD treatment.
You can read the Mad in America article here, and an abstract of the research study here.
If you or some you know is struggling with anxiety-related problems, please check out the Portland Psychotherapy Anxiety Clinic. If you would like to learn more about my approach to OCD specifically, check out my OCD website, where I described how I use Acceptance and Commitment therapy to help enhance exposure and response prevention.
Author: Brian Thompson Ph.D.
Brian is a licensed psychologist and Director of the Portland Psychotherapy Anxiety Clinic. His specialties include generalized anxiety, OCD, hair pulling, and skin picking.
