What Is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? - Dr. Simpson (VIDEO)
Dr. Simpson introduces herself and explains obsessive compulsive disorder/OCD.
More Videos from Dr. Helen Blair Simpson 20 videos in this series
Dr. Simpson:
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental illness characterized by two prominent symptoms – obsessions and compulsions. And obsessions are intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses that repeatedly enter someone’s brain and that generate distress. And compulsions are repetitive acts, either behaviors or something someone does in their head over and over again that they feel driven to perform.
About Dr. Simpson, M.D., Ph.D.:
Helen Blair Simpson, M.D., Ph.D., an expert on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, New York City, where she directs the Anxiety Disorders Clinic and OCD Research Program at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She was a member of the work group that developed the first “Practice Guidelines for the Treatment of Patients With OCD” for the American Psychiatric Association.
Through her research, Dr. Simpson is working to trace the brain circuits believed to play a major role in the development of obsessions and compulsions, and she has developed novel approaches to treatment. Her research has been supported by a NARSAD Young Investigator grant.
