Accurate scales and questionnaires are crucial for assessing whether a person has OCD and how severe the symptoms are. Used by treatment providers and researchers, these assessments provide the first step towards figuring out what kind of treatment a person would benefit from, the themes of symptoms that should be addressed, and how to help a patient begin the road to recovery.

This project, led by Drs. Wilhelm, Baer, and Goodman, focused on creating a scale for rating OCD symptoms based on categories before, during, and after treatment, with the goal to assess symptom improvement on a more detailed level than previously possible. 127 participants with OCD completed the Obsessive Compulsive Symptom Rating Scale (OCSRS), a new scale for rating OCD symptoms based on their specific subtypes and categories. The OCSRS assesses OCD symptoms among 22 categories of themes, and was demonstrated to be an effective questionnaire for clinical use. This scale is now used regularly to design exposure exercises and track the progress of therapies and treatments around the world. 

Related Publications:

Yovel, I., Gershuny, B.S., Steketee, G., Buhlmann, U., Fama, J.M., Mitchell, J., & Wilhelm, S. (2012). Idiosyncratic Severity Profiles of Obsessive Compulsive Dysfunction: A Detailed Self Report Assessment of a Multifaceted Syndrome. Cognitive Therapy and Research,36, 694–713. doi:10.1007/s10608-011-9427-2