OCD Treatment: A Case Study Analysis

This case study analyzes the treatment of a woman named Diana, who suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) for 26 years. The study focuses on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and meditation, which were the primary methods used in her treatment. The analysis explores the strengths and weaknesses of CBT, highlighting its collaborative nature and ability to address root causes, while also noting its cost and potential emotional impact. The study also briefly discusses other treatment options for OCD, such as medically assisted therapy and psychosurgery. The conclusion emphasizes the significant role of CBT in providing a comfortable environment for patients to share their emotions and reduce anxiety, ultimately leading to successful recovery.

Introduction
The given case study is about women Diana who is suffering from obsessive-compulsive
disorder from last 26 years. She finally came out from her disease by putting various efforts. In
this paper, we will study the effectiveness and strengths or weaknesses of treatment taken by
Diana to come out of the disease. She mainly takes help of a psychiatrist. He suggested
meditation and utilize cognitive behavioral therapy to treat her in an efficient manner. After
taking the therapy, she is able to sleep well. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a serious mental
disorder disease in which people feel the requirement to check things repeatedly (Goodman,
2014).
Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Model
Cognitive behavioral model is considered as an efficient psychosocial intervention which is
broadly utilized for treating obsessive-compulsive disorder. It utilizes different systematic
strategies to implement change. This will enable it to treat its patient in an efficient manner.
Cognitive model mainly utilizes structural assessments to identify patient conditions, guide
treatment planning, a measure severity of illness. This will help the therapist to establish how
problem thoughts, symptoms, and behaviors are linked to the patient. With this, the therapist can
provide the suitable treatment as required by the condition of the patient. This will also help the
therapist in determining which thoughts, behaviors, and symptoms should become the prior
target of treatment. By utilizing cognitive behavioral model, the therapist formulates treatment
strategies which are efficiently implemented to recognize targeted specific episodes of
problematic and distress behaviors and thoughts. The cognitive behavioral model suggests that
thoughts of obsession are normal, but the person who faces automatic secondary thoughts may
1

bring anxiety and negatively influence their health. With the help of the cognitive behavioral
model, these thoughts are hypothesized to show beliefs and dysfunctional assumptions. Thus it
can be said that cognitive behavior plays a vital role in the treatment of mental disorder patient.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Cognitive Behavioral Model
Cognitive behavioral model is an efficient therapy for treatment of mental disorder patient. But it
has its own strengths and weaknesses which make it different from the other available therapies.
Strengths and Weaknesses of cognitive behavioral model are following:
Strengths
 It is collaborative in nature which fosters the treatment of OCD people in an efficient
manner.
 CBT enables the therapist to perform more independent effort to understand the root
causes of disease.
 It involves less reliance than the other OCD treatment therapy.
 It is an ongoing therapy which provides utilization of more directive skills to treat the
patient (Leichsenring, 2013).
 Treatment provided by the CBT is its own.
 It is very beneficial for the recent onset and specified goals and issues.
Weaknesses
 The foremost weakness of CBT is that fewer people prefer this. All this happened
because it is very costly and fewer people able to afford it.
 It is disliked by the most patient because they feel that it played more with their
emotions.
2

 It mainly focuses on positive thinking and avoids negative thinking which brings harmful
consequences for human beings.
 It mainly downplays with emotions of the patient by overemphasizing the thought-
oriented and logical components of their mental life.
In spite of various weaknesses, it is mostly preferred by the patient because it helps them came
out of the disease in an efficient manner.
Different Treatment Perspectives for OCD
OCD can be treated in different manners. Apart from cognitive behavioral therapy there are
following therapies which play an important role in treating OCD patient:
Medically Assisted OCD Therapy
It is considered the most effective meditation therapy to treat OCD patient. It includes
citalopram, paroxetine, fluoxetine, sertraline, and fluvoxamine. It has pleasant effects which give
the feeling of relaxation to the patient (Hofmann, 2012).
Psychosurgery
It is utilized to alleviate different signs of OCD in the patient who does not respond to behavioral
therapy and medications. It is an efficient therapy to treat OCD patient.
Apart from all these, the suffering patient can also take help from various inpatient and residual
OCD treatment centers. These centers provide efficient residential and hospital care services to
the patient so that they can give them a feeling of comfort.
3

Conclusion
After studying all this, it can be said that cognitive behavioral model plays a significant role in
the treatment of OCD suffering patient. It gives the environment and feeling of comfort to its
patient through which they consider himself as the part of their organization (Grant, 2014). They
are able to share their positive and negative emotions with the therapist who ultimately reduces
the anxiety level of the patient. Diana takes high efforts to the treatment of her disease, and
ultimately she win the battle with the disease. So, it can be said that cognitive behavioral model
is an effective source for OCD suffering patient.
4

References
Goodman, W. K., Grice, D. E., Lapidus, K. A., & Coffey, B. J. (2014). Obsessive-compulsive
disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 37(3), 257-267.
Grant, J. E. (2014). Obsessive–compulsive disorder. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(7),
646-653.
Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of
cognitive behavioral therapy: a review of meta-analyses. Cognitive therapy and research, 36(5),
427-440.
Leichsenring, F., Salzer, S., Beutel, M. E., Herpertz, S., Hiller, W., Hoyer, J., ... & Ritter, V.
(2013). Psychodynamic therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder: a
multicenter randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Psychiatry.
5