Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

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Recommended: Ethics of counseling

The mental health disorder I have chosen for analysis is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). First, I will discuss symptoms and diagnostic criteria that is in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Then I will cover treatment OCD as it relates to the strengths perspective and the medical model of mental health. Finally, I will discuss the ethical responsibilities that Social Workers have towards clients in the mental health field.

Symptoms and Diagnostic Criteria

OCD often starts in adolescence or early adult hood (DSM, 2000). It is in the Axis I category of the DSM. It often starts from some experience in the client life. These experiences could be because of trauma, abuse, or other important life transitions. For most people OCD, gradually develops over time, and it can be many years before fully blown OCD is developed. The cause of OCD is unknown, but “family and twin studies show it has a strong heritable component and is likely genetically linked to Tourette’s disorder” (Andreason & Black, p.190).

Two very important aspects of OCD are obsession and compulsion. Clients will develop obsession which can be defined by the DSM as “recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced, at some point during the disturbance as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress” (p.462). Compulsion is “repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the person feels they should perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly” (DSM, 2000, p. 462).

These obsessive thoughts are more then just worrying about everyday life. These obsessions create a lot of anxiety and stress in the client’s life. A client can have obs...

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...urselves in an ethically competent way. We must work within the bounds of our training, education, certification, licensure, knowledge etc. I should not be diagnosing a client unless I am properly education and have the proper licensure. Clients have the right to confidentiality and privacy in the worker-client relationship. These are just a few of the ethical responsibilities that we as Social Workers have towards clients in the mental health field.

Works Cited

Andreasen, N., Black, D (2006). Introductory Textbook of Psychiatry Forth Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy… (n.d.). National Association of of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists. Retrieved June 22, 2010 from http://nacbt.org/whatiscbt.htm

Diagnostical and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association

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