Stephanie was also prescribed an SSRI, fluoxetine (Prozac), to treat her condition. 

Stephanie is a young mother who fears that if she takes her eyes off of her two-year-old son Jake when she is at a red light that someone will open her car door and kidnap him. She fears that if she does not wash three layers of dirt off of her hands before touching Jake she could contaminate him. Therefore, she spends excessive time washing her hands in scalding water, washing her hands over twenty times within a few hours. She is especially concerned that when taking Jake for a walk that someone might sneak up on her and try to hurt him or spit on him. Therefore, it takes her hours to take him on a walk because she is constantly surveying her environment and trying to avoid running into people. Stephanie recognizes that her fears are irrational and is afraid of the effect they are having on Jake, who already pretends to wash his hands.  As part of her treatment, her therapist asked Stephanie to open a piece of mail that Stephanie perceived to be contaminated and spread the “germs” on the sofa. Stephanie was then asked to interact with her son without washing her hands first. In addition to receiving this type of treatment, Stephanie was also prescribed an SSRI, fluoxetine (Prozac), to treat her condition.