ABSTRACT
National Institute of Mental Health Despite the considerable advances in pharmacological and behavioral treatments over the past two decades, a significant minority of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) continue to respond minimally at best to currently available interventions (Goodman, McDougle, Barr, Aronson, & Price, 1993; Jenike, 1993). As documented throughout this volume, much current research is devoted to the study of new treatments or treatment combinations to help those suffering from refractory OCD. At the same time, questions have been raised about the potential utility of older treatments, most notably electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), in the modern therapeutic regimen for OCD (Maletzky, McFarland, & Burt, 1994).
