Final answer:
Effective OCD treatment combines psychotherapy, like Exposure and Response Prevention, with medication, often SSRIs. Constant reassurance, encouraging ignoring obsessions, time for rituals, or punishment are not therapeutic approaches. Exposure to obsessions and prevention of compulsive responses is key in therapy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The appropriate treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) involves a combination of psychotherapy and medication. While reassuring a patient is part of supportive care, constant reassurance may reinforce the obsessions.
Encouragement to ignore their obsessions (B) is not a therapeutic approach, as obsessions are intrusive and not easily controlled by the patient. Allowing time to perform rituals (C) can also reinforce the compulsions, and punishment (D) is not a humane or effective treatment strategy.
The most effective therapy for OCD is often Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), particularly a type called Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). This approach exposes patients to their sources of anxiety (obsessions) and helps them learn to resist the urge to engage in compulsive behaviors (response prevention).
Medications, particularly Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), can also be an important part of treatment by modifying the underlying neurochemistry associated with OCD symptoms.