Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are effective for treating OCD, they do not reduce OCD symptoms for everyone due to a variety of factors. A potential avenue of boosting SSRI efficacy, based on prior research into medications for major depression, was the addition of aripiprazole, an atypical antipsychotic.

This study by Dr. Bystritsky and his team aimed to test the addition of aripiprazole to sertraline (an SSRI) and compare it to sertraline alone to understand whether adding aripiprazole would boost sertraline’s effects on reducing OCD symptoms.