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Although primary care physicians and other non-specialists in mental health feel comfortable managing less complicated anxiety-related disorders, OCD is a more complex diagnosis and ideally should be managed by a psychiatrist.  Before initiating medication, the psychiatrist will first do a thorough assessment to ensure that the diagnosis of OCD is accurate, and to determine the presence of coexisting conditions that may complicate the treatment.

"At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself overwhelmed with anxiety. I was rightfully worried about the transition of over 500 individuals and families to telehealth... To my very pleasant surprise, my anxieties did not come to fruition." Read Dr. Rosmarin's findings about how in person and telehealth therapy helped prevent patient's anxiety during the pandemic.

Telehealth allows for increased access to care, providing a flexible option for families, and allows for exposure work in the home setting where compulsions may be the strongest. Yet, telehealth does not come without challenges.

In 2009 I decided to step out of my comfort zone and open a solo private practice. I’ve enjoyed the last 15 years in private practice, and looking back, there are some choices I made that were on point, some that were errors in judgements, but all were learning experiences.

Whether we hear the term from a client, another provider, or our own classification of someone’s symptoms, “compulsions” tend carry with them some level of assumption – that this might just be OCD.

Parents of children with OCD are often not aware of how they can contribute to their child's behavior, or more specifically, how they unintentionally support the OCD through accommodating behaviors. This blog post explores the role of family accommodations in childhood OCD and provide strategies to help parents better support their child. 

Now that telehealth and in-person services are available, what are important factors for clinicians, youth, and families to consider?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can affect people of all races, color, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, sexual orientation and/or different cultural backgrounds, and culture can have a large influence on how someone might perceive or report their symptoms.

Friends are the people we keep in our lives by choice and not because of familial bonds, work contracts, or other circumstances. However, for those with the disorder, finding and nurturing friendships while in the thick of symptoms can be just as difficult. 

Many mental health professionals are now conducting patient visits virtually. I am one of the only psychologists left in my building who has stayed behind to continue in-person work while abiding by COVID protocols. Since our practice specializes in refractory OCD spectrum disorders and anxiety disorders a lot of the work done at our outpatient clinic requires in-vivo exposures, which cannot be replicated on Zoom.

I’m a psychologist who treats OCD and Anxiety Disorders. When my patients get to a point in treatment when they shrug their shoulders and say to me, “Yeah, I had an intrusive thought, but ‘Whatever”, I know we have hit a home run.