Psych Prep U Obsessive-Compulsive
and Related Disorders Questions and
Answers 100% Pass
Explain why an individual with OCD might repeatedly check if a door is locked, even after
confirming it is.
✔✔The repeated checking is a compulsion driven by obsessive thoughts that create intense
anxiety about the door being unlocked. The compulsion temporarily reduces this anxiety, even
though the individual knows the behavior is irrational. **Rationale:** Compulsions are
repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the distress caused by obsessions, despite the lack of
logical connection between the behavior and the feared outcome.
Why is exposure and response prevention (ERP) considered an effective treatment for OCD?
✔✔ERP is effective because it involves gradually exposing individuals to their fears without
allowing them to engage in compulsive behaviors, helping them learn that anxiety diminishes
over time without the compulsion. **Rationale:** ERP works by breaking the cycle of obsession
and compulsion, teaching the brain to tolerate anxiety without resorting to rituals.
How can body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) be differentiated from OCD?
1
,✔✔BDD is characterized by a preoccupation with perceived physical defects, often leading to
repetitive behaviors like mirror checking, while OCD involves a broader range of obsessions and
compulsions unrelated to physical appearance. **Rationale:** Both disorders share repetitive
behaviors, but BDD is specifically focused on appearance, whereas OCD covers various fears
and rituals.
Why might someone with hoarding disorder resist discarding items, even if they are
unnecessary?
✔✔Individuals with hoarding disorder fear that discarding items could lead to a loss or harm,
often believing the items will be needed in the future, which leads to significant distress at the
thought of letting them go. **Rationale:** Hoarding disorder is driven by strong emotional
attachment and irrational beliefs about the necessity of possessions, even when they are not
useful.
Describe the role of serotonin in the treatment of OCD.
✔✔Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly used to treat OCD because they
increase serotonin levels in the brain, which helps reduce the intensity of obsessive thoughts and
2
,compulsive behaviors. **Rationale:** OCD is associated with low serotonin levels, and SSRIs
help by enhancing serotonin activity, leading to a decrease in symptoms.
Why is it important for clinicians to assess insight in patients with OCD?
✔✔Assessing insight helps determine how much the patient recognizes that their obsessions and
compulsions are irrational, which is critical for tailoring treatment approaches and setting
realistic goals. **Rationale:** Insight influences the treatment plan, as individuals with poor
insight may require more intensive therapy and a different therapeutic focus than those with good
insight.
How does trichotillomania differ from OCD in terms of behavior and motivation?
✔✔Trichotillomania involves repetitive hair-pulling, often triggered by tension or stress, and is
typically done to relieve these feelings, whereas OCD involves compulsions that are performed
to prevent a feared event. **Rationale:** While both conditions involve repetitive behaviors, the
motivations differ: trichotillomania is a response to internal discomfort, whereas OCD behaviors
are aimed at preventing external harm.
What is the impact of comorbid anxiety disorders on the treatment of OCD?
3
, ✔✔Comorbid anxiety disorders can complicate OCD treatment by intensifying symptoms and
making it more challenging to manage both conditions simultaneously, often requiring a more
comprehensive treatment approach. **Rationale:** The presence of multiple disorders can
increase the severity of symptoms, necessitating a multifaceted treatment strategy to address all
aspects of the patient’s mental health.
The client has begun to wash the client's hands every hour due to the fear of germs becoming
embedded in the client's skin leading the client to develop cancer. Which would best describe the
client's behavior? ✔✔A compulsion
Compulsions are ritualistic behaviors that people feel compelled to perform either in accord with
a specific set of rules or in a routine manner. A repeated action performed as the result of a
persistent thought is termed a compulsion. Obsessions refer to recurrent, intrusive, and persistent
ideas, thoughts, images, or impulses. Compulsions are the behaviors people with obsessive-
compulsive disorder will carry out in order to neutralize the anxiety caused by the obsessions.
Panic attacks typically are characterized by a discrete period of intense apprehension or terror
without any real accompanying danger, accompanied by at least four of 13 somatic or cognitive
symptoms. Acute stress disorder occurs within the first month of exposure to extreme trauma:
combat, rape, physical assault, near-death experience, or witnessing a murder.
4
and Related Disorders Questions and
Answers 100% Pass
Explain why an individual with OCD might repeatedly check if a door is locked, even after
confirming it is.
✔✔The repeated checking is a compulsion driven by obsessive thoughts that create intense
anxiety about the door being unlocked. The compulsion temporarily reduces this anxiety, even
though the individual knows the behavior is irrational. **Rationale:** Compulsions are
repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the distress caused by obsessions, despite the lack of
logical connection between the behavior and the feared outcome.
Why is exposure and response prevention (ERP) considered an effective treatment for OCD?
✔✔ERP is effective because it involves gradually exposing individuals to their fears without
allowing them to engage in compulsive behaviors, helping them learn that anxiety diminishes
over time without the compulsion. **Rationale:** ERP works by breaking the cycle of obsession
and compulsion, teaching the brain to tolerate anxiety without resorting to rituals.
How can body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) be differentiated from OCD?
1
,✔✔BDD is characterized by a preoccupation with perceived physical defects, often leading to
repetitive behaviors like mirror checking, while OCD involves a broader range of obsessions and
compulsions unrelated to physical appearance. **Rationale:** Both disorders share repetitive
behaviors, but BDD is specifically focused on appearance, whereas OCD covers various fears
and rituals.
Why might someone with hoarding disorder resist discarding items, even if they are
unnecessary?
✔✔Individuals with hoarding disorder fear that discarding items could lead to a loss or harm,
often believing the items will be needed in the future, which leads to significant distress at the
thought of letting them go. **Rationale:** Hoarding disorder is driven by strong emotional
attachment and irrational beliefs about the necessity of possessions, even when they are not
useful.
Describe the role of serotonin in the treatment of OCD.
✔✔Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly used to treat OCD because they
increase serotonin levels in the brain, which helps reduce the intensity of obsessive thoughts and
2
,compulsive behaviors. **Rationale:** OCD is associated with low serotonin levels, and SSRIs
help by enhancing serotonin activity, leading to a decrease in symptoms.
Why is it important for clinicians to assess insight in patients with OCD?
✔✔Assessing insight helps determine how much the patient recognizes that their obsessions and
compulsions are irrational, which is critical for tailoring treatment approaches and setting
realistic goals. **Rationale:** Insight influences the treatment plan, as individuals with poor
insight may require more intensive therapy and a different therapeutic focus than those with good
insight.
How does trichotillomania differ from OCD in terms of behavior and motivation?
✔✔Trichotillomania involves repetitive hair-pulling, often triggered by tension or stress, and is
typically done to relieve these feelings, whereas OCD involves compulsions that are performed
to prevent a feared event. **Rationale:** While both conditions involve repetitive behaviors, the
motivations differ: trichotillomania is a response to internal discomfort, whereas OCD behaviors
are aimed at preventing external harm.
What is the impact of comorbid anxiety disorders on the treatment of OCD?
3
, ✔✔Comorbid anxiety disorders can complicate OCD treatment by intensifying symptoms and
making it more challenging to manage both conditions simultaneously, often requiring a more
comprehensive treatment approach. **Rationale:** The presence of multiple disorders can
increase the severity of symptoms, necessitating a multifaceted treatment strategy to address all
aspects of the patient’s mental health.
The client has begun to wash the client's hands every hour due to the fear of germs becoming
embedded in the client's skin leading the client to develop cancer. Which would best describe the
client's behavior? ✔✔A compulsion
Compulsions are ritualistic behaviors that people feel compelled to perform either in accord with
a specific set of rules or in a routine manner. A repeated action performed as the result of a
persistent thought is termed a compulsion. Obsessions refer to recurrent, intrusive, and persistent
ideas, thoughts, images, or impulses. Compulsions are the behaviors people with obsessive-
compulsive disorder will carry out in order to neutralize the anxiety caused by the obsessions.
Panic attacks typically are characterized by a discrete period of intense apprehension or terror
without any real accompanying danger, accompanied by at least four of 13 somatic or cognitive
symptoms. Acute stress disorder occurs within the first month of exposure to extreme trauma:
combat, rape, physical assault, near-death experience, or witnessing a murder.
4
