A case study of obsessive-compulsive disorder and emerging treatment approaches

This study examines symptom characteristics, functional impairment, treatment challenges, and emerging adjunctive treatment experiences among individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Drawing on 13 case summaries and three additional in-depth interviews, the study explores how OCD symptoms affect daily routines, academic and occupational functioning, family relationships, and social participation. Although established treatments, including pharmacotherapy and cognitive–behavioral therapy with exposure and response prevention, remain central to OCD management, some individuals experience persistent symptoms, encounter treatment barriers, or achieve only partial improvement. This study, therefore, considers the role of conventional care alongside emerging adjunctive approaches, including mindfulness-based strategies, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, and esketamine-assisted psychotherapy. The findings indicate that OCD symptoms are heterogeneous and substantially impair functioning, highlighting the need to individualize treatment according to symptom dimensions, severity, treatment history, and available social support. The results further suggest that long-term treatment continuity, family psychoeducation, and careful clinical monitoring play important roles in supporting symptom management. Emerging adjunctive approaches may be relevant for selected patients with chronic or treatment-resistant symptoms; however, these approaches should be interpreted with caution and examined in more rigorous research designs before stronger clinical conclusions can be drawn.