In the 1990’s, information about OCD was mostly provided by television talk shows and magazine articles, featuring only white individuals. This led some black patients to believe they were an anomaly in the black population — contributing to further internalized stigma about the disorder in conjunction with their racial identity. One patient even believed that her having OCD negated her identity as a black American. 


OCD as a “White Person’s Problem” 


A misunderstanding of OCD led to a common fear amongst all black OCD patients within a clinic that they were — or would become — psychotic. It is possible that this led to the increased evasiveness of black patients in discussing their obsessive-compulsive symptoms. 

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Prior to 1996, it was found that, while black Americans and white Americans had the same statistical probability of acquiring OCD, black Americans were either less likely to seek treatment for the disorder or were less likely to get diagnosed in the first place. In a survey sample of 1,500 individuals with OCD, only 30 (2%) of the total were black. 

OCD Treatment Seeking Statistics in the Black American Population


Hatch, Marjorie L; Friedman, Steven; Paradis, Cheryl M. Behavioral treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in African Americans. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, Volume 3, Issue 2, 1996, Pages 303-315, ISSN 1077-7229, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1077-7229(96)80020-4.

Behavioral treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder in African Americans


In one clinic, while 60% of black patients were recommended to take medication to treat their OCD, less than half of them agreed to the medication consultation. 

Psychiatric Care for Black Americans with OCD

Although it is common for individuals with OCD to be somewhat secretive about their disorder, one clinic found that their black patients were more reluctant than their white counterparts to reveal information about their obsessions or compulsions to their therapists. This meant it took more weeks until black clients were willing to share about obsessive-compulsive behavior — leading to initial misdiagnoses and incorrect therapeutic treatment. 

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