[PaulaS]

I´ve been in therapy for some months now and I realise that it´s quite likely that I have a mild form of HOCD, that is homosexual OCD, fearing being homosexual. As this isn´t that a common diagnosis I fear that my therapist won´t acknowledge it. Of course I understand no one in here can give me the exact answer but perhaps some of you have the experience of talking about OCD and HOCD in particular with your T.

My next kind of fear is if my T at all has the competence to acknowledge OCD:s in general? What can you expect? She´s in the psychodynamic field to the most and doesn´t work as much with CBT.

As I´ve been in therapy for some months I also think she should have already referred me to another T if she saw some OCD:s and thought she couldn´t treat them?

What seems to be the general opinion about HOCD as a diagnosis amongst therapists today?

[HazelGirl]

Why are you afraid of being homosexual? As a psychodynamic T, she will want to focus on that question.

[CantExplain]

Some therapists can be very stubborn on the subject of diagnosis. In particular, Madame T didn't believe in it at all. And even more mainstream Ts would admit that diagnosis isn't the whole story.

If HOCD simply means you are afraid you might be gay, then that is at most one fact. It cannot describe your whole personality. It probably isn't even your biggest or deepest problem. The issue that brings you to therapy is generally only the tip of the iceberg.

[Partless]

Interesting, this is the first time I hear of that. I had to look it up. But then again I'm not a therapist. Almost all therapists know about OCD and given that OCD can be about a lot of different things, I don't see why they would not treat this because how is it different from other OCD concerns?!

[UnderRugSwept]

Hi PaulaS,

The following link has been very helpful to me. I didn't know there were so many kinds of OCD. (The link is UK-based, but no matter where you live, it breaks things down very well, I think. My PsyD T liked the link as well.)

The Different Types of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder | OCD-UK

HOCD is mentioned towards the bottom...I like the way it's addressed. HOCD is simply another form of OCD and should be treated as such.
It also mentions CBT as a treatment method. I am sure CBT works for some people, but it hasn't helped my form of OCD at all. I have the Symmetry/Orderliness and Contamination (for me, lots of cleaning plus germophobia) kinds.
Anyway, I think you should ask your therapist if she is comfortable treating you for OCD. I did find it very helpful getting psychodynamic therapy (overall) in the past, which decreased my OCD symptoms at the time.