In response to hearing that black patients found OCD to be a "white person's problem", their clinicians sought to address this sense of isolation. They asked their clients' consent to videotape them discussing their symptoms and treatment. Subsequent black clients reported feeling "greatly relieved" that other black individuals experienced the disorder. Seeing other black patients with the disorder might have also motivated them to commit to exposure and response prevention for OCD treatment. 

Efforts to Recontextualize OCD in a Racially Conscious Manner

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. 


University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

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. 

Cultural Understanding of OCD Among Black Americans


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.

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