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Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Many health-care professionals may help diagnose OCD: licensed mental-health therapists, family physicians, or other primary-care providers, specialists whom you see for a medical condition, emergency physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, and social workers. There is no specific test for OCD. Therefore, its diagnosis may be based on the following:

• Certain signs and symptoms must be present, as previously described.
• The professional may use a standardized questionnaire or self-test to help assess your history and current risk of anxiety, depression, and suicide attempts.
• A physical examination and laboratory tests are often done to rule out medical conditions that may cause or worsen anxiety. Examples of such tests include a complete blood count, blood chemistries, thyroid function tests, and liver function tests.
• Your doctor may perform the following imaging studies: an X-ray, scan, or other radiologic study if something that is found on physical exam or in blood tests indicates the need for an imaging study.

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