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Example research essay topic: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Cognitive Behavioral - 1,003 words

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... eople with OCD report that the symptoms can come and go on their own. Individuals with OCD may have substance-abuse problems, sometimes as a result of attempts to self-medicate. Specific treatment for the substance abuse is usually also needed. After a proper diagnosis, there are many treatments available for patients suffering from OCD. However, before any treatment is administered, the patient and family are educated about OCD and its treatment as a medical illness.

First of all, there are medications available. Due to the fact that it is believed that serotonin levels play a role in OCD, medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) these are medications more commonly known as anti-depressants and they also affect serotonin levels. These are such medications as Anafranil, Prozac, Luvox, Paxil, and Zoloft. These drugs have been known to have moderate improvement after 8 - 10 weeks on an SRI.

Unfortunately, fewer than 20 % of those treated with medication alone end up with no OCD symptoms. This is why medication is often combined with something called Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy (CBT) to get more complete and lasting results. About 20 % dont experience much improvement with the first SRI and need to try another one. CBT is the psychotherapeutic treatment of choice for children, adolescents, and adults with OCD. In CBT, there is a logically consistent and compelling relationship between the disorder, the treatment, and the desired outcome. CBT helps the patient internalize a strategy for resisting OCD that will be of lifelong benefit.

Behavior therapy helps people learn to change their thoughts and feelings by first changing their behavior. Behavior therapy for OCD involves exposure and response prevention (E/RP). Exposure is based on the fact that anxiety usually goes down after long enough contact with something feared. Thus people with obsessions about germs are told to stay in contact with germy objects until their anxiety is extinguished. The persons anxiety tends to decrease after repeated exposure until he no longer fears the contact. For exposure to be of the most help, it needs to be combined with response or ritual prevention (RP).

In RP, the persons rituals or avoidance behaviors are blocked. For example, those with excessive worries about germs must not only stay in contact with germy things, but must also refrain from ritualized washing (Breaking the Cycle, 2000). Exposure is generally more helpful in decreasing obsessions, and response prevention is more helpful in decreasing the compulsive behaviors, so a combination of both of these treatments makes this an effective therapy. Cognitive Therapy (CT) is the other component of CBT. CT is often added to the E/RP to help reduce the catastrophic thinking and exaggerated sense of responsibility often seen in those with OCD. For example, a person with OCD may think that if they dont lock the door, it will cause someone to sneak in their house and kill them that night while they are sleeping.

CT would help them to challenge that faulty assumption in this obsession. Also, it would help them to quit obsessing about locking the door 15 times, and realize that the door is locked the first time. People react differently to psychotherapy, just as they do to medicine. CBT can be individual, group, or family, depending on the needs of the patient. Those who complete CBT report a 50 % to 80 % reduction in OCD symptoms after 12 - 20 sessions. Also, people with OCD who respond to CBT usually stay well, often for years to come.

When someone is being treated with medication, using CBT with the medication may help relapse when the medication is stopped (Barlow & Burke, 1999). In a December 1999 report, Hyman and Schwartz state that OCD can be a devastating disease, and it affects 1 in 40 people (slightly more women than men), and can come and go many times in ones life. However, in the past 20 years, treatment has improved drastically upon more knowledge of this disorder. Thus making it highly treatable. The first step is education; without this, it is hard to recognize, diagnose, and treat OCD.

With all of the treatments available today, people shouldnt have to live with this embarrassing, and controlling disorder. There is help, and through education, awareness, and treatment, people dont have to live with it anymore. In conclusion, I found that writing this paper was quite fascinating and informative. It also helped me to recognize that although my habits may seem odd at times, they are just that, habits.

Obsessions are a lot more extreme than the average habit or quirk. I think it is so important that people who think that they may have this problem seek help, because it is so easily treated. The problem, most people are embarrassed by their obsessions, and are too ashamed to tell anyone or to seek professional help. I enjoyed writing my paper on OCD, and I know now that I will be able to recognize the symptoms in people around me, and hopefully be able to help them out with my knowledge. Bibliography: Works Cited Barlow, David H. & Bulk, Lynn F. (1999). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. [CD-ROM].

Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 1 - 4. from: Microsoft Software. (2000, April). Breaking the Cycle: Help for the Obsessive Compulsive. [ 6 paragraphs. ] National Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists [Online serial]. Available web University of Florida Brain Institute. (1994).

The Florida OCD Inventory OCD Screening Test. Goodman, Dr. Wayne K. University of Florida College of Medicine. (2000, May).

How is OCD Treated? [ 24 paragraphs. ] OCD Foundation [Online serial]. Available web Hyman, Bruce & Schwartz, Jeffrey. (1999, December). Tormented by thoughts: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder causes recurring thoughts. [ 28 paragraphs]. 20 / 20 news [Online serial]. Available web Neziraglu, Fun A. (1998). Over and Over again: Understanding Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder. Maryland: Madison. (2000, May) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Symptoms. [ 11 paragraphs. ] Mental Health Network [Online serial].

Available web Wood, Samuel E. , & Wood, Ellen Green. (1999). The World of Psychology. Mass: Allyn & Bacon.


Free research essays on topics related to: behavior therapy, substance abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder, serotonin levels, cognitive behavioral

Research essay sample on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Cognitive Behavioral

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