Hertfordshire Obsessive Compulsive Disorders Service

The Hertfordshire Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCDs) Service is a county-wide service based in Welwyn Garden City providing expert consultation, advice and care in collaboration with the local community mental health or primary healthcare services for people with OCDs in Hertfordshire.

We provide person-centred treatment/care, both in the outpatient clinic and/or in an inpatient care setting, delivered to the highest standard. We use research-enhanced treatment, including off-label and approved pharmacological agents. Psychological interventions include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Various other psychological interventions are utilised to help enhance treatment response. Given the cognitive inflexibility and rigidity often experienced by our service-user group, which at times impacts treatment progress, we are constantly exploring new pharmacological and psychological approaches to improve flexibility and outcomes on an individualized basis.

A very small group of patients who further fail to respond to our treatment are offered the opportunity for assessment for suitability for somatic treatment e.g. neuromodulation or neurosurgery.

The research  expertise in applied neuroscience, provided by our services, in collaboration with the Universities of  Hertfordshire  and Cambridge, is used to help understand better how the brain Hertfordshire  and Cambridge, is used to help understand better how the brain functions in the manifestation and  maintenance of these disorders and to drive forward novel and more effective  treatment interventions.