Gifted and Talented Intern/Mentor Program

Preliminary Research Proposal

OCD and Depression Comorbidity: A Tale of Two Terrors
Ricky Farrell

November 22, 2015

I. Research question:
What, if any, are the neurological and psychological similarities between OCD and
Depression, and what is the most effective therapy for patients with comorbid OCD and
Depression?
II. Overview of Research
The area in which I am researching is in Psychology. The specific field in which I
am studying is Obsessive-compulsive Disorder, and Depression. I am researching the
similarities between the two disorders, and methods to treat patients with both of these
disorders present. I am also trying to figure out the neurological similarities between
OCD and Depression, which leads them to be treated by the same types of drugs, such as
SSRIs.
The resources that I am using for my project are mostly Internet based, although I
do have some print books and a few human sources. One main source I have used is
Science in Context, a Gale database that has provided me with the basic information I
needed to get an overview about OCD and Depression. After learning the basic
information, I started to use more complex sources, such as studies and scholarly articles
on the relationship between OCD and Depression. One of the studies that I used was
Clinical Correlates of Comorbid ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder and Depression in
Youth, a study done by Dr. K. E. Canavera. I also have a few advisors, which have kindly
given their time to help me to gain more information.
The real problem that needs to be solved, is finding the best therapeutic methods to
treat patients with OCD and Depression. These could be methods already used
frequently by psychologists, or methods new to the field of Psychology. Other methods
could include treatment by drugs, such as SSRIs or other antidepressants.
III. Significance of Research
The proposed problem is important to the community of psychological research.
There arent many people doing research and investigating the correlation between OCD
and Depression, and the more information found, the better. This problem is also very
important to people who are affected by OCD and Depression, as well as their therapists.
This can give insight to therapists who are struggling with their patients ho are suffering
both Obsessive-compulsive disorder along with Depression. Finding the best treatment
for these circumstances is the best thing that I can do to try and help these patients.

The intended audience of this project would be local therapists, who could not only
use my research for themselves, but also help me critique my own research. Nothing is
ever going to be perfect, but with more professionals using my work, they can find ways
to make it even better, which can be used by others.
This Audience is an appropriate choice because they would be one of the only
people that would benefit from this. Any other intended audiences would be people who
suffer from OCD and Depression, and their family members, but it is difficult to
encourage people with Depression to seek help.
IV. Product Overview
The product that I propose to communicate my research would be through either a
published article or a website. The published article would be my best choice because it
could be looked at as scholarly and more formal. A website would be my second choice
because it would be hard to find an audience, but I could express more information
through it. An article would take more time and effort, but it would most likely prove
more successful.
An article would be tricky to figure out how to publish. I would have to find a
newspaper that would accept my article, and I would have to figure out how to get it
published. I would probably have to get an adviser to help me out. A website would be
easier to create, but I would also have to find an audience, which would be difficult
without spending money.
Student Signature: __________________________________ Date: _________________
Mentor Signature: __________________________________ Date:
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