OCD treatment, diagnosis & prescriptions

Maple is a virtual care platform that connects you with doctors and other healthcare providers via text, audio, or video. After you log in to your Maple account, you can request an online consultation.

Consultations work similarly to in-person appointments — the doctor can complete an assessment by asking questions about your symptoms, going through your health history, and determining what treatment is right for you. If they think your condition is more serious, they may tell you to go to a clinic for an in-person examination.

As a Maple member, you get 24/7 access to virtual primary care online and more. You can connect with our network of providers via text, audio, or video call within minutes.

Our membership costs $79.99/month and covers virtual care for patients and their families, including the primary account holder's spouse and any dependents.

For patients in eligible provinces, our membership includes:

• Access to daily primary care provider visits: One daily visit with a primary care provider for each family member in their household.
• Paediatric care: Covered paediatric primary care visits, available by appointment.
• Second medical opinions: access to a network of experts for a second opinion if diagnosed with a complex condition (e.g. cancer).
• Personal Health Check-Ins: A series of personalized, evidence-based proactive care screenings to maintain and improve health.
• iCBT courses: Access to iCBT (internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy) self-assessment and courses.
• Access to specialists in eligible provinces: Easy access to specialists on Maple within days, not months. No referral is needed.
• Specialist referrals in eligible provinces: Ability to be referred to a physician specialist for in-person care, if needed.
• Credit discounts: An $80 credit per month to be applied to a Maple specialist visit.

Please note that our membership cannot be combined with other offerings, such as private insurance coverage and provincial programs, where available. In some cases, membership fees can be covered by a Healthcare Spending Account (HSA) — check with your HSA provider for more details.

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Our policies and consent processes are designed to be simple and easily understood, empowering individuals with control and a clear understanding of their healthcare journey. When using our services, a patient’s session is protected by a comprehensive security infrastructure and stringent data policies.

Patients also retain full control of their personal health information, medical records and test results at all times. Our approach is reinforced by consultations with leading experts, guaranteeing comprehensive policy frameworks that are reviewed at a regular cadence.

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Regulators across Canada support and recognize the value of services like ours, and the way in which they can benefit patients, physicians, and Canada’s broader healthcare system by improving access to care and increasing efficiencies in the delivery of care.

Yes. In some cases, a doctor will be able to help diagnose obsessive-compulsive disorder by performing a psychological evaluation. This involves discussing your feelings, symptoms and patterns of behaviour, which you believe to be interfering with your quality of life.

As well, the doctor may perform an OCD test, using the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which is available through the American Psychiatric Association.

Because OCD shares symptoms with a number of other mental illnesses (i.e. depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders), it can sometimes be difficult to diagnose. Your doctor may suggest additional evaluations before recommending specific OCD treatments such as medications.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a type of mental illness.

Those affected could have obsessive thoughts or urges, or they may feel compelled to perform repetitive behaviours. In some cases, they may experience both obsessive and compulsive tendencies.
Those experiencing obsessions often have common themes, including:

• A need for things to be symmetrical or orderly
• Difficulty tolerating uncertainty or severe doubting
• Fear of dirt or contamination
• Unwanted thoughts involving sexual or religious subjects
• Aggressive thoughts about losing control and harming themselves or others

Those experiencing compulsions also have common themes, including:

• Counting while performing an action
• Washing and cleaning excessively
• Following a strict routine (where deviation from the routine causes severe anxiety)
• Fixation on maintaining orderliness
• Checking things repeatedly or frequently
• Regularly demanding reassurance

OCD symptoms vary from case to case, depending on whether you’re experiencing obsessive symptoms or compulsive symptoms. In some cases, OCD patients may experience symptoms from both categories.
Common obsessive symptoms include:

• Intense anxiety or stress when things are orderly or set in a certain way
• Unpleasant or aggressive sexual images
• Doubts about whether you’ve already performed an action (locking a door, turning off an appliance, etc)
• Fear of contamination when touching objects
• Thoughts of harming others
• Fantasizing about acting inappropriately in public

Common compulsive symptoms include:

• Arranging objects to all face the same direction or a very specific way
• Checking things repeatedly to ensure they are off/closed (doors, appliances, etc)
• Hand-washing to the point of damaging your skin
• Counting in specific patterns, sometimes uncontrollably
• Repeating a word or phrase either out loud or in your head

OCD causes aren’t fully understood at this time.

Some theories suggest that OCD could be caused by biology (brought on by natural changes in our body’s chemistry), genetics (symptoms could be brought on by a specific or mutated gene, possibly hereditary) or learning (developed over time from watched or learned habits).

However, although all of these potential causes could increase your chances of developing OCD symptoms, the specific physical causes have yet to be conclusively identified.

There are a few different risk factors of OCD, which could either cause someone to begin showing symptoms of OCD, or might trigger an existing condition to become more severe.

Stressful or traumatic life events are a common trigger for OCD symptoms. As well, having parents or family members with OCD, might make you genetically predisposed to developing the disorder.

In some cases, OCD could also be related to other mental health disorders, such as substance abuse, depression, anxiety disorders or tic disorders.

In order to perform a diagnosis, your doctor will most likely want to perform a psychological evaluation. This will help them evaluate your state of mind, your daily patterns of behaviour, as well as the symptoms that you’ve begun to experience.

As well, you may be given an OCD test, based on the criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

There are two frequently used options for OCD treatment, medications and psychotherapy. In many cases, a combination of both of these is the most effective treatment.

However, OCD treatment may not result in a cure. Depending on the severity of your condition, you may require long-term, ongoing or intensive treatment.

Your doctor will make recommendations on the best course of action for you, once they’ve had a chance to do a full evaluation.