Dean's Grand Rounds - OCD: a silent global epidemic
Free Webinar - Thursday 16 April 2026, 4.00pm - 5.30pm
Overview
Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects hundreds of millions worldwide, yet remains chronically underdiagnosed, undertreated, and frequently misunderstood. Despite its high prevalence and profound functional impairment, OCD continues to sit in the shadows of mainstream mental health discourse.
In this Royal College of Psychiatrists Grand Round, Dr Himanshu Tyagi, Consultant Psychiatrist and OCD specialist, Margherita Zenoni, PhD, OCD patient, Head of Fundraising and Communication at Orchard OCD, and Dr Chrishanthy Jayarajah, Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist explore why OCD represents a global silent epidemic.
The session will examine:
- The true epidemiological and societal burden of OCD
- Diagnostic complexity and misclassification
- Neurobiological and circuit-level insights reshaping our understanding of the disorder
- Limitations of current pharmacological and psychological treatments
- Emerging translational approaches and the future therapeutic pipeline
Drawing on clinical expertise, research leadership, and lived-system advocacy, this discussion aims to reframe OCD not as a niche anxiety disorder, but as a major global health priority requiring structural change in research investment, clinical training, and therapeutic innovation.
Programme and slides
- Introduction from Professor Subodh Dave, Dean, Royal College of Psychiatrists
- OCD: A Silent Global Epidemic - Introduction - Dr Himanshu Tyagi
- Lived experience perspective - Margherita Zenoni
- Silent struggles Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Women’s Health - Dr Chrissy Jayarajah
- Q&A
- Close from Dr Deepa Bagepalli Krishnan, Dean's Grand Rounds Lead