COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY IN OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER FOR ADULTS
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY IN OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER FOR ADULTS

Summary/Abstract: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic anxiety disorder with an estimated lifetime prevalence in adults of 2-3%. Our aim is to provide an overview of the development of effective psychological treatments for OCD, together with a systematic review of the latest research in the field. Controlled treatment trials have demonstrated that cognitive - behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for OCD. CBT has been at least as effective as medication and shows good benefits at follow up. Nevertheless, more studies are still needed, mainly those focusing on long-term follow-up, group-treatment and the combined use of CBT with SSRIs. A prefrontal cortico-striato-thalamic brain system is implicated in the mediation of symptoms of OCD. Recent research has demonstrated that CBT for OCD can systematically modify cerebral metabolic activity in this cortico subcortical circuit in a manner that is significantly related to clinical outcome.

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