Paper Example on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder and hoarding get construed as anxiety related conditions where individuals anchor repetitive unwanted thoughts and ideas that compel them towards undertaking a particular activity. The anchoring of the repetitive thoughts or ideas is what brings about obsession and the drive received towards undertaking something justifies the aspect of compulsion. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to create a study aimed to evaluate treatment modalities for the issue in the discussion or precisely the obsessive-compulsive disorder and hoarding. The primary modalities involve the therapeutic ones, for example, the short-term psychological therapy (Elliott & Smith, 2009). The therapy will be of great importance after the examination of the patient's support system and coping skills.

The skills which will be realized from the examination not to work may be reinforced using other additional skills provided by the medical personnel. Another significant area of examination involves the social relationship through stressing on healthy and positive bonding and having the client undergo negative and harmful re-examination relationships. The importance of the therapy gets based on allowing the clients to examine and thoroughly identify the state of their feelings, instead of distancing or intellectualizing themselves from their emotions. It is thus vital that at the end of every session, the therapist should be able to note the facial expressions as a way of drawing assumptions about the state of the clients' feelings (In Frost & In Steketee, 2014). The clients may also be given an additional work of recording down their feelings and their interval of occurrence when at home. The record should also include the situation that triggered the feelings.

The other therapy which may also work is that of exposure and response prevention. The treatment modality involves exposing the patient to anxiety and obsession triggering stimuli in a controlled manner. The exposure should be done systematically and efforts made to prevent the patients from engaging in their typical compulsions. The treatment modality in the discussion may not apply to all the patients considering that there exist clients who are reluctant to such triggered or the induced environment. Even though the said situation may be there, the therapy if well administered comes out as an efficient treatment mechanism which can be given priority in the treatment of some patients since it offers accurate and credible results on the state of mind and the feeling of an individual. An application of the pharmacotherapy may also be considered especially the one associated with the clomipramine which is known for being the specific inhibitor of the reuptake of serotonin (Leatherdale, 2013). Therefore, for clomipramine to work efficiently, it must be used with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors due to the advancements it has received over a period. It is usually advised that higher doses be administered to patients before any notable clinician improvements. In most cases, the upgrades are normally gradual, a situation that requires a gradual reduction in dose administration until the patient regains normalcy.

In consideration of the treatment modalities presented, it gets essential to realize that the research will be conducted through a design that brings on board two groups of individuals with the severe compulsive disorder and hoarding. The groups will then get exposed to the different treatment modalities discussed in the previous paragraphs and their progress measured. Further details of the design give an example of the first therapeutic modality which was on short-term psychological therapy. The two groups will each be exposed to the therapy with the therapist noting any change from every group. At the end of the assessment, the therapist will be able to have down the different feelings and the state of the mind of every person. The same procedure will be repeated in the case of the exposure and response prevention therapy, where the groups will get exposed to an anxiety-provoking exercise coupled with the exposure to the feared environment or those with mental obsessions (Leatherdale, 2016). The proper administration of the exercise will give accurate responses which will enable the therapist to decide on the kind of treatment to offer as a way of countering the provocation.

The method of collecting data about the patients will also make easy the use of the pharmacotherapy which involved the application of clomipramine and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The highlighted is because of its dependence on the state of the patient to realize the amount of dose to be administered. Another way of collecting data may also pertain the use of questionnaires where the patients are asked questions which provokes their sense of anxiety. The manner in which they will respond to the questions presented in the questionnaires will tell of their feelings and the state of mind. Equally notable, the major operational definitions and protocols in the section will revolve the three major therapeutic modalities for the treatment of the obsessive-compulsive disorder. These three modalities include the short-term psychological therapy, the exposure and response prevention therapy and lastly the pharmacotherapy (Leatherdale, 2013). The reason for their existence is due to the direct dependence which the research methods will draw from them. The other operational terms will get based on the particular responses that will be provided by the patients when exposed to the anxiety and obsession induced environment. The final ones will be those in the questionnaires and also the responses that will be provided by the patients.

Basing the argument of the research involving two groups of individuals for data collection as explained in the previous sections, I will use the t-test for independent means to determine the variance between the groups used in the research and to also draw a conclusion on whether the group used may have some similarities. Another reason for using the test is based on its relationship with the research question hence bringing on board the aspect of the correlational studies that pertains two or more variables. In our case, there are two variables as justified by the two groups of individuals upon which data or research information will be drawn.

Finally, the last part of the methodology section will be based on the limitations. The study will be limited to three therapeutic modalities discussed in the treatment of the disorder. The reason for the limitation gets based on the research conducted which proved the three as the most effective. Any other treatment modality that may be given consideration apart from the three may not offer accurate results due to the lack of evidence on their credibility. Obsessive-compulsive disorder and hoarding are conditions which should be treated keenly by skilled experts since any error in medical administration may not only cause inaccurate results but also allow the patient stay at risk of acquiring wrong treatment. The mentioned informs the next limitation which gets based on the treatment being offered by only skilled therapists to ensure the administration of proper medication. The research will also be based on the already noted two methods of collecting data or research information only. These two included exposing two groups of people to anxiety and obsession induced stimuli and noting down their reactions. The other method got based on the use of the questionnaires where a patient reads questions that can trigger his or her sense of anxiety and obsession and then writes down the responses (Pertusa & University of London, 2011). The reason for limiting the research to these two methods is based on the contact they offer to the therapist and the client. The therapist can keenly observe the client and the manner in which responses are provided and make his assessment of the situation.

Lastly, the study will assume that the results noted from the two groups chosen for the research can be used by the rest of the population that also experiences the same disorder. The reason behind the assumption is based on the existence of a minimal or no difference between those suffering from the obsessive-compulsive disorder and hoarding. The difference may only exist on the extent of the effect of the disorder which can be neutralized by the pharmacotherapy that involves the administration of different doses of clomipramine and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (Steketee, 2012). The drawn thus limits the study to the use of the results arrived at for the general population and not incorporating any views or adjustment which may be brought on board by other researchers or scholars who may have different opinions.

References

Elliott, C. H., & Smith, L. L. (2009). Obsessive-compulsive disorder in dummies. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

In Frost, R. O., & In Steketee, G. (2014). The Oxford handbook of hoarding and acquiring.

Leatherdale, L. (2013). Hoarding, hoarders, and OCD obsessive compulsive disorder explained: Symptoms, causes, treatments, signs, types, help, behavior and cure all covered.

Leatherdale, L. (2016). Hoarding and OCD: Hoarding and OCD disorders explained.

Pertusa, A., & the University of London. (2011). Nosological status of hoarding and its relation with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Steketee, G. (2012). The Oxford handbook of obsessive compulsive and spectrum disorders. Oxford: Oxford University Press.