Getting Unstuck: OCD Assessment, Diagnosis, and Framing Treatment

It is estimated that approximately 2-3% of adults in the United States suffer from symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder that disrupt daily functioning (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). Unfortunately, the condition is often misdiagnosed and/or mistreated leading to significant delays in patients receiving appropriate treatment up to 17 years (Ziegler, 2021). This talk has been designed to help clinicians improve their ability to assess for and diagnose OCD, to recognize common obsessions and common overt and covert compulsions, and to identify problematic beliefs associated with OCD. Frameworks for evidence-based treatment will be discussed including exposure and response prevention. Clinicians will gain a better understanding of clinical approaches that exacerbate OCD symptoms and will be directed to resources for additional training.

William “Billy” Meyers, M.Ed., LPC-S is a nationally certified counselor and professional member of the International OCD Foundation specializing in treatment of OCD, anxiety disorders, and PTSD and providing telehealth treatment to clients across Mississippi through the Hope Enrichment Center in Oxford. Billy is licensed in Mississippi and Georgia and lives in Decatur, Georgia outside of Atlanta with his family. Approximately half of his clients at any given time are seeing him to address symptoms of OCD. He is actively engaged in regular training for OCD treatment at national conferences, regional workshops, and consultation groups with other OCD specialists biweekly.

American Psychiatric Association (2022)

Ziegler, S. (2021, December 13). Long durations from symptom onset to diagnosis and from diagnosis to treatment in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A retrospective self-report study