Guidance

This guideline covers recognising, assessing, diagnosing and treating obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder in adults, young people and children (aged 8 years and older). It aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder. It includes recommendations on how families and carers may be able to support people with either of these conditions, and how they can get support for themselves.

Last reviewed: 11 July 2024

We simplified the guideline by removing recommendations on general principles of care that are covered in other NICE guidelines (for example, the NICE guideline on service user experience in adult mental health). This is a presentational change only, and no changes to practice are intended.

Update in progress: We have checked this guideline and identified several areas for update. For details, see the February 2019 surveillance decision and the guideline update page.

How we prioritise updating our guidance

Decisions about updating our guidance are made by NICE’s prioritisation board. For more information on the principles and process see NICE-wide topic prioritisation: the manual.

Recommendations

This guideline includes recommendations on:

Who is it for?

  • Healthcare professionals
  • Commissioners and providers
  • Adults, young people and children with a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder or body dysmorphic disorder
  • Carers of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder or body dysmorphic disorder

Guideline development process

How we develop NICE guidelines

This guideline was previously called obsessive-compulsive disorder: core interventions in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder.

Your responsibility

The recommendations in this guideline represent the view of NICE, arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence available. When exercising their judgement, professionals and practitioners are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences and values of their patients or the people using their service. It is not mandatory to apply the recommendations, and the guideline does not override the responsibility to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual, in consultation with them and their families and carers or guardian.

All problems (adverse events) related to a medicine or medical device used for treatment or in a procedure should be reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency using the Yellow Card Scheme.

Local commissioners and providers of healthcare have a responsibility to enable the guideline to be applied when individual professionals and people using services wish to use it. They should do so in the context of local and national priorities for funding and developing services, and in light of their duties to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, to advance equality of opportunity and to reduce health inequalities. Nothing in this guideline should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with complying with those duties.

Commissioners and providers have a responsibility to promote an environmentally sustainable health and care system and should assess and reduce the environmental impact of implementing NICE recommendations wherever possible.