Do I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

Have you ever asked yourself this question? What can you do to determine if you have OCD? Let’s look at a brief description of what OCD is and how we can help you if you think you might be struggling with it.

How is OCD diagnosed?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD is a type of anxiety disorder. If you are looking for help in determining if you have OCD you can be assessed and diagnosed by a therapist.

When making any type of diagnosis, therapists utilize diagnostic information detailed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (or DSM-5 for short). The DSM-5, is a handbook used by mental health professionals around the United States and many places around the world as a guide to diagnose mental health disorders.

In order to get this information a therapist may utilize a structured assessment such as the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (or Y-BOCS for short) or by asking the potential client open-ended questions about the symptoms present.

In either situation, the therapist will be primarily looking for the following:

• The presence of obsessions.
• An attempt to ignore the obsessions.
• The presence of repetitive physical behaviors or mental acts.
• That the obsession and/or compulsions take up time and impair social, occupational or other important life areas.

Treatment for OCD

The great news is that OCD is treatable! If you think that you have OCD, we would like to help you. The best next step is to locate a clinician trained in the treatment of OCD. This is a very important and at times confusing process. 

While every therapist is typically educated on all types of disorders while completing their education, it is important to find someone that has been trained in current evidence based therapeutic techniques, which for OCD is exposure-response prevention.

At the Houston Center for Valued Living, we have an OCD specialist, Christen Sistrunk, M.A., LPC. Christen has attended the International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation’s (be sure to visit their website iocdf.org) training program for behavior therapists (or BTTI for short, clearly we like to shorten things). Christen has years of experience working with OCD clients in a residential and intensive setting as well as on an outpatient basis. If you have questions about OCD and would like to speak with someone in our office, call today 832.283.9199.

Christen Sistrunk, M.A., LPC specializes in working with adolescents, adults, and seniors with a range of anxiety and depression related complaints in Houston, Texas. She is a founder of the Houston Center for Valued Living and is Co-President of OCD Texas, a non-profit support and advocacy group for people with OCD and related disorders. She is available to see clients in office and through web/teletherapy on Mondays, Wednesdys, and Fridays. Contact Christen to schedule an appointment.