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Introduction: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent mental health disorder which is characterised by high levels of morbidity. Most individuals with OCD do not receive adequate psychotherapeutic intervention. Research suggests that taboo intrusive thoughts are less likely to be recognised as OCD in comparison to more recognisable forms. Stigma attributions are higher for individuals with taboo intrusive thoughts. The aim of this study is to examine psychotherapists' capacity to recognise different forms of OCD, their recommendations for psychotherapeutic intervention, and stigma attributions towards clients with OCD symptoms. Methodology: Five hundred fourteen psychotherapists in Ireland were randomly assigned a vignette describing a client with different OCD presentations—paedophilia, aggressive, religious, homosexuality, contamination and symmetry. Participants gave their interpretations of the presenting symptoms, their therapy recommendations and rated their confidence in their responses. Perceived dangerousness and willingness to work with the client were also investigated. Results: The taboo intrusive thoughts vignettes were significantly less likely to be recognised as OCD than the contamination and symmetry vignettes. Participants attributed greater levels of stigma to clients with aggressive and paedophilia intrusive thoughts. Recommendations for evidence‐based therapies were low. Participants who recognised OCD were significantly more likely to recommend an evidence‐based therapy. Confidence was a poor predictor of OCD identification and evidence‐based therapy recommendation. Conclusions: The results suggest a lack of awareness of certain types of OCD presentation amongst psychotherapists, the meaning of the symptoms and of evidence‐based psychotherapeutic interventions for OCD. The implications of this, and possible applications of these results, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Mental health problems are disproportionately higher amongst homeless people. Many barriers exist for homeless people with mental health problems in accessing treatment yet little research has been done on service provision and quality of care for this group. The aim of this paper is to assess current service provision and identify barriers to care for homeless people with mental health problems in 14 European capital cities. Method Two methods of data collection were employed; (i) In two highly deprived areas in each of the 14 European capital cities, homeless-specific services providing mental health, social care or general health services were assessed. Data were obtained on service characteristics, staff and programmes provided. (ii) Semi-structured interviews were conducted in each area with experts in mental health care provision for homeless people in order to determine the barriers to care and ways to overcome them. Results Across the 14 capital cities, 111 homeless-specific services were assessed. Input from professionally qualified mental health staff was reported as low, as were levels of active outreach and case finding. Out-of-hours service provision appears inadequate and high levels of service exclusion criteria were evident. Prejudice in the services towards homeless people, a lack of co-ordination amongst services, and the difficulties homeless people face in obtaining health insurance were identified as major barriers to service provision. Conclusions While there is variability in service provision across European capital cities, the reported barriers to service accessibility are common. Homeless-specific services are more responsive to the initial needs of homeless people with mental health problems, while generic services tend to be more conducive to long term care. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of different service delivery models, including the most effective coordination of homeless specific and generic services.