Although these medications are called antidepressants, they are effective in treating anxiety disorders such as OCD too.
These drugs are thought to work by increasing the amount of serotonin that is available within the brain.
Problems with serotonin may be a significant cause of OCD.
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If you have tried standard OCD medication and not had success, augmentation therapy can help.
Augmentation therapy involves using combinations of drugs, rather than a single drug, for maximum effect.
Augmentation strategies could be especially effective for people who do not respond to standard treatment.
Psychological Therapy
Psychological therapyfor obsessive-compulsive disorder is effective for reducing the frequency and intensity of OCD symptoms.
Although individual CBT for obsessive-compulsive disorder is very effective, it can also be very expensive.
There are also other potential treatment options for OCD that are less common.
Deep brain stimulation may offer such treatment.
However, to date, the evidence has been mixed with respect to whether rTMS is an effective treatment.
Such procedures are typically only used after other treatment options have failed to offer sufficient relief.
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Larson, Paul.
Deep Brain Stimulation for Psychiatric Disorders.NeurotherapeuticsJanuary 2008 5: 50-58.
