Use of Behavioral Therapy and Imipramine

Abstract

A case of obsessive-compulsive neurosis with severe depression was treated by the combined use of (1) exposure and response prevention and (2) imipramine. While compulsive rituals disappeared after three weeks of behavioral treatment, obsessions and depression diminished only after the introduction of imipramine. The patient remained asymptomatic at a follow-up of six months. The relationship between depression and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, as well as the optimal order in which behavioral and pharmacological interventions are introduced, is discussed.