On January 26, 2022, Michael Wheaton, assistant professor of psychology, published a new article in the medical journal JAMA Psychiatry, alongside several co-authors. The research, titled “Maintenance of Wellness in Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Who Discontinue Medication After Exposure/Response Prevention Augmentation: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” examines whether exposure and response prevention therapy can allow some patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who are taking serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) to discontinue their medications and still achieve noninferior outcomes compared with those who continue with SRI therapy.
To examine this, the authors completed a 24-week, double-blind, randomized clinical trial with adults who had a principal diagnosis of OCD, were taking an SRI, had moderate symptoms, and received as many as 25 sessions of EX/RP therapy. The findings show that it is possible for patients with OCD to maintain wellness after discontinuing SRI therapy.