OCDnet, a digital app, offers a practical online programme for the patient to work through, while also providing a chat facility with trained practitioners when needed.

Run by Dorset HealthCare’s Steps to Wellbeing service, OCDnet, a free, confidential service for people aged 18 and over, is designed to help users manage their condition on a day-to-day basis.

OCD affects people in all walks of life, and can take many forms – the obsessive need some people have to continually wash their hands, for example, which may have been made worse by the spread of COVID-19.

To receive support via OCDnet, you can make a self-referral via the Steps to Wellbeing website. A team member will get in touch to assess which treatment would be most helpful – which could be the new app.

Clare Hurley, head of Adult Psychological Services at Dorset HealthCare, said, “Many people think you can’t treat OCD and feel embarrassed, so suffer in silence and don’t seek treatment. 

 “However, OCD can be well managed and controlled. We would encourage anyone that thinks they have OCD to refer themselves and get support. Help is at hand.”

To receive free support with OCD, or other mild to moderate depression and anxiety disorders, self-refer today at www.steps2wellbeing.co.uk