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2010.142110dag.001

Obsessive-compulsive disorder
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(2010) "Obsessive-compulsive disorder", Health Education, Vol. 110 Iss: 4
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/he.2010.142110dag.001
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Obsessive-compulsive disorder
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Article Type: Internet review From: Health Education, Volume 110, Issue 4
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a serious, anxiety related, debilitating condition that affects
approximately 3 per cent of the UK population. Interestingly, at some time in our lives, we have probably all
suffered the symptoms of OCD, though admittedly in a very mild form. Worrying over trivia unnecessarily, making
sure that things in the house are always in their right place, avoidance of certain situations, worrying about
whether you really did turn the lights off when you left the house? In the right context all perfectly normal thoughts
and behaviours, but when they become intrusive, to the exent that they begin to interfere with normal living, this
is when we are looking at something closer to OCD.

Pharmaceutical treatments for OCD are available but they do not work for everyone and the side-effects can be
unpleasant. In this review we will examine a number of different approaches to dealing with this condition but our
focus will be on the self-help treatments that can be found on the internet.
OCD-UK www.ocduk.org/index.htm
This is the web site of a UK based charity whose stated aim is to Make a difference for people affected by OCD.
The resources provided by this web site are extensive and the information is presented in interesting and
innovative manner. For example clicking on the link OCD-What Is It? brings up a (quite long) summary of this
section where information on aetiology, treatment and prognosis can all be found. However, running parallel to
this, on the right of the users screen, are a series of links that provides more detailed information for different
parts of this section. It is rather like having the contents page of a book continuously available.This allows the
user to very quickly find what they are looking for and at a depth appropriate to their interests.
As with all good health education web sites, the designers of this one have provided separate sections for young
children and teenagers. The guide for young children is in the form of a comic book with two characters Jolly
and Grump explaining that OCD is like a big bully who pushes you around, and makes you feel bad. The
language used and the illustrations will make this very appealing to young children who might be experiencing
OCD, or for others who want to know more about the condition because a friend or relative might be showing
symptoms of OCD.
The guide for teenagers is equally well produced with content appropriate to this age group, including some
interesting case studies.
One of the most useful parts of this web site is the section dealing with self-help. Here users are introduced to the
Four Steps technique, developed by Jeffrey Schwartz in the 1990s. Esentialy this technique is a combination of
cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness and by using the Four Steps, the person with OCD, in
essence, becomes their own CBT therapist. The web site provides a usful guide to the technique and for people
who might want to know more a book and a video can be purchased from OCD-UK.
There is so much in this web site it is hard to do it justice in a short review. It is probably enough to say anyone
with an interest in OCD, for whatever reason, will find the contents of this web site interesting and informative.
The International OCD Foundation www.ocfoundation.org/index.aspx
The OCD Foundation is the USAs equivalent to OCD-UK. Although it does not describe itself as a charity, it is a
not-for-profit organisation, developed and run by people with OCD. In the section About OCD users can find a
wealth of information on OCD in its many forms. Much of the information is also available in the form of
downloadable leaflets which could be of use in a variety of health education contexts.
The Find Help section, while mainly focusing on North America, has some interesting features. For example,
users can enter their postcode to find a therapist in their location. It is also possible to find online support groups
for OCD in general, or for specific conditions. Although these support groups are in the main online, users can
also find local support groups in their area if they feel the need for face-to-face contact with other people trying to
cope with OCD.
The OCD Foundation is supported by donations and as we frequently find in this type of web site,there is a link for
those who wish to support the Foundation. What is more unusual is to find a link where you can donate a car! The
idea is that for anyone who has a spare care cluttering the driveway, they can donate it to the Foundation, who
presumably sell it on and keep the profit as a donation. An interesting approach, but not sure if it will catch on in
the UK.
As well as seeking donations, the Foundation also makes money through a Speakers Bureau. This is a list of
knowledgeable people, some of who have experienced OCD first hand, others who are medical practitioners or
therapists, and they can be booked for conferences, meetings or special events that are OCD related.
Among other things, the money raised by the Foundation is used to support research into the condition and
abstracts of the many research projects that have been funded by the Foundation can be found here. Under the
Research heading users will also find a link that enables them to volunteer as a participant in OCD research.
Although these research projects are not specifically endorsed by the Foundation, most of those listed appear to
be quite legitimate. For those people who want to volunteer, but cant find a research project in their area, there
are also links provided to online surveys that are being used to gather data on various aspects of OCD.

There is much to commend this web site, it looks good, is well organised, and has content that is suitable for a
variety of users. The lay person who want to know more about their troubling condition, or the health education
professional who is looking for resources, both will find something of interest in this web site.
NHS Choices www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Obsessive-compulsive-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx
The UKs National Health Service has come a long way in recent times in improving the online information it
provides. From a very basic text-based service we now have this multimedia web site which is a vast
improvement on what was previously available. The information is presented in a format that resembles aminitextbook in that an overview is first presented, followed by chapters on symptoms, causes, treatments and so on.
Guideline from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), are also provided and the
overview concludes with a References section. The second tier of information provided by this web site is perhaps
the more interesting. Here users will hear from experts, they can read real life stories as well as watch a video clip
of a woman describing how OCD has affected her life. It is also possible to access the Map of Medicine, an
online flow chart that it used by doctors to make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment. At each node of the flow
chart users can access further information to help them move to he next step in the chart. Ultimately a diagnosis
is made and treatment recommendations can be examined. This is an excellent resource that should be copied
by other health education web sites.
Finally,just to make sure that all the information provided is up to date, a link to the Reuters news agency is
provided. Unfortunately, although the newsline does provide some relevant information, there is a lot that would
only be of passing interest to most users interested in OCD.
Royal College of Psychiatrists
www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfoforall/problems/obsessivecompulsivedisorder/obsessivecomplusive
disorder.aspx
For a minimalist approch to information provision, look no further than this web site. Admittedly, the Royal College
of Psychiatrists describes this web site as a leaflet, so users shouldnt expect too much information, but the
difficulty is knowing who this leaflet is aimed at? For a lay person who wants to know the basics of OCD this
leaflet is probably ideal. It describes the symptoms, has a few sentences on the causes of OCD and briefly
explains different forms of treatment. However for a person who has OCD, there is nothing like enough
information in this web site. It will raise lots of questions but provide very little in the way of answers. Similarly, for
health education professionals there is very little here that would be of use.
For some reason there is a link that presents this leaflet in Arabic, no other languages, just Arabic. Why that
should be the case is not explained, perhaps OCD is more prevalent in Arabic speaking people, but I suspect not.
The one thing that is useful in this web site is a comparison and evaluation of different forms of treatment. Again it
lacks detail but is does provide a good summary of what is available and how effective it might be.
The web site provides telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for other OCD organisations, e.g. OCD-UK, but,
for some reason, it doesnt provide a link to these web sites. Perhaps the designers of this web site are fearful of
the competition they should be!