Evolving OCD treatment: breaking the loop

Abstract

Despite obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) being recognized as a global diagnosis with similar rates across countries, there is still a severe lack of trained specialists and high levels of underdiagnosis. This ‘treatment gap,’ together with high treatment resistance in OCD, poses a major challenge to healthcare systems and patients. To overcome barriers to access, there is an urgent need to expand the workforce via specialized training and to provide personalized treatment via digital tools, home-based scalable interventions and alternative treatment modalities.