Dr. Simpson describes the alternative treatments available for patients with obsessive compulsive disorder/OCD.
Dr. Simpson:
It’s very important for people to know that there are two powerful treatments for OCD. One is medication, but the other one is cognitive behavioral therapy, and the data we have is that it’s as effective, if not more effective, for OCD. So for women who don’t want to take medication, there’s an alternative treatment, which is just, if not more powerful.
About Dr. Simpson, M.D., Ph.D.:
Helen Blair Simpson, M.D., Ph.D., an expert on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, New York City, where she directs the Anxiety Disorders Clinic and OCD Research Program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She was a member of the work group that developed the first “Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Patients With OCD” for the American Psychiatric Association.
Through her research, Dr. Simpson is working to trace the brain circuits believed to play a major role in the development of obsessions and compulsions, and she has developed novel approaches to treatment. Her research has been supported by a NARSAD Young Investigator grant.
Visit Dr. Simpson at Columbia University Medical Center