February 18, 2025 | 3 min read

Screening for, diagnosing, and treating OCD 

By Ghida Kassir, MD, University of Toronto, Canada

To accurately diagnose OCD, clinicians must move beyond general inquiries about "unwanted thoughts" and instead ask specific, sensitive questions about the diverse ways obsessions and compulsions can manifest. Effective treatment often includes a combination of medication and psychotherapy—specifically Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). 

February 17, 2025 | 1 min read

Educating patients about OCD 

By Ghida Kassir, MD, University of Toronto, Canada

Clinicians can help patients with OCD understand the condition by emphasizing that intrusive thoughts are symptoms, not character flaws, and that compulsions, though temporarily relieving anxiety, ultimately perpetuate the cycle. 

January 29, 2019 | 7 min read

“Good Doctoring”

By Taylor Purvis, MD, St. Vincent Medical Center, Bridgeport, CT

Reflections from a medical student on the practice of medicine as captured in the novels "The Bad Doctor," by Ian Williams, and "A Fortunate Man," by John Berger & Jean Mohr.