© 2003 Oxford University Press
Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Comorbid Social Phobia
From the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Treatment Program, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, and the Department of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Contact author: Alan Seigel, LICSW, BCD, Behavioral Health Associates, 3300 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01199. E-mail: alan.seigel{at}bhs.org.
The purpose of this article is to help persons in the helping professions recognize the serious threats to self, family life, and work experienced by persons with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and social phobia and help engage persons affected in focused, clinically responsible treatment. The article will present findings from epidemiological studies of the disorders presenting conjointly, illustrate comorbidity in clinical practice through case examples, and review clinically relevant information to be gleaned in the diagnostic assessment. Core triage decisions in initiating treatment will be reviewed. Medication approaches and patient concerns regarding medication will be overviewed. The article will summarize psycho-educational information regarding cognitive errors in OCD and social phobia that may be presented to the patient to help the patient limit anxiety evocative and depressive thought. The author will provide illustrations of cognitive behavioral treatment in individual and group psychotherapy, transfer of training, treatment resistance, and adjunctive treatments, resources for consumers and practitioners, and emerging challenges in the field. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 3:5581 (2003)]
KEY WORDS: obsessive compulsive disorder, social phobia, major depression, cognitive behavioral treatment, Employee Assistance Program, psychotropic medication