title: Obsessive-compulsive disorder. How primary care physicians can help.
abstract: Obsessive-compulsive disorder is common but not always recognized and treated. Obsessions are recurrent undesirable thoughts or images; compulsions are recurrent undesirable actions. Behavior psychotherapy can be very helpful in controlling compulsions, whereas clomipramine (Anafranil) or fluoxetine (Prozac) therapy can relieve both obsessions and compulsions. Given an understanding of the disorder and its treatment, primary care physicians can, in most cases, effectively diagnose and manage this debilitating condition. Those who do not wish to initiate treatment should refer patients to a mental health professional, as should those who attempt treatment but meet with an unresponsive case.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Queens Hospital Center, Jamaica, NY 11432.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rifkin
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy; D011612:Psychosurgery; D011613:Psychotherapy