Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterised by intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive mental or behavioural acts performed to reduce the distress they cause (compulsions). OCD is often misunderstood or oversimplified – reduced to a stereotype of handwashing or symmetry – when in fact it presents in many distinct forms, including contamination fears, harm-related intrusions, checking, and religious or moral scrupulosity, among others.
Dr. Patel’s approach to OCD treatment is grounded in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the most extensively evidenced psychological treatment for the condition. Rather than applying ERP as a fixed protocol, his clinical work draws on inhibitory learning models – a more contemporary understanding of why exposure works, which shapes how exposures are structured to maximise durable change rather than short-term symptom suppression.
A particular area of clinical and research focus is the ceiling that standard ERP can reach in more treatment-resistant presentations. Dr. Patel’s ongoing work explores reconsolidation-interference approaches – targeting the underlying threat memory more directly, rather than optimising around it – as a next-generation direction for individuals who have not achieved full remission with conventional ERP alone.
OCD frequently co-occurs with other conditions, including Tic Disorders. Individuals whose OCD symptoms are intertwined with tics or premonitory urges may be presenting with a related but distinct condition – see Dr. Patel’s dedicated page on Tourettic Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
Dr. Dipesh Patel 