Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorders Case Study

For the purpose of discussing the identification and categorisation of mental illness, this essay will focus on the chapter of Obsessive-Compulsive Related Disorders (OCRDs) from the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). An emphasis will be placed on hoarding disorder (HD), a newly recognised disorder characterised by the compulsive acquisition of objects, with persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, and significant associated distress and/or functional impairment (Steketee, Frost, Wincze, Green and Douglas, 2000). The recent release of the DSM-V by the American Psychological Association (APA) has led to much debate. At the most general level, criticism has been directed at the so-called medicalisation of normality that the DSM-V was deemed to be driving. This refers to the mechanisms by which psychological experiences come to be situated within and …show more content…
In either case it is important to note that when the framers of the OCRD chapter mention “treatment”, they seem to be referring almost exclusively to medication (Fineberg, Saxena, Zohar, and Craig, 2011). Currently the most common treatment for HD patients is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which has the intention of aiding individuals to understand why they acquire so many possessions and why it is difficult for them to part with items. Studies have also noted that both OCD patients and HD patients respond well to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications (Saxena and Summer, 2014). However several studies have shown no beneficial effect of SSRIs in other OCRD such as trichotillomania (Ninan, Rothbaum, Marsteller, Knight, and Eccard, 2000; van Minnem, Hoogduin, Keijsers, Hellenbrand, and Hendriks, 2003), which only highlights the need for additional research into the relatedness of