Get an inside look at our Connecticut programs, including our specialized OCD treatment, and earn CE credits in an OCD-focused webinar.
When It Looks Like OCD But Isn’t: Differential Diagnosis in OCD
with Meredith Hettler, MS, LMFT, CCATP
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is frequently missed, misunderstood, or misdiagnosed because its symptoms overlap with a wide range of other psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. This presentation will help clinicians distinguish OCD from common look-alike presentations, and offer practical assessment strategies that improve diagnostic accuracy and support more appropriate treatment planning.
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Identify core diagnostic features of OCD, including the function of obsessions, compulsions, avoidance, reassurance seeking, and mental rituals
- Differentiate OCD from generalized anxiety disorder, psychosis-spectrum presentations, tic disorders, autism-related repetitive behaviors, body dysmorphic disorder, illness anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
- Apply practical clinical interview strategies and screening questions to improve diagnostic accuracy when OCD is suspected
Meredith is the National Director of Newport Healthcare's Anxiety and OCD Program. She has led the development and expansion of Newport's specialized OCD programming across residential and outpatient programs, trained multidisciplinary teams in evidence-based treatment, and presented on OCD assessment, treatment fidelity, and systems-level dissemination of effective care.