[Page 2327]Diagnosis of any of the obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs) is a process by which the symptoms and features of a disorder are assessed by an appropriate professional to reliably identify the presence of the disorder. There are several important benefits to diagnosis. First, identifying a diagnosis can improve communication between health care professionals. A diagnosis communicates significant information with few words; knowing that an individual has a diagnosis of hoarding disorder (HD) immediately provides a wealth of information to another knowledgeable professional (even though there will still be a great deal of specific and personal information to learn). Having a particular diagnosis can provide helpful guidance to select appropriate treatments. Diagnosis of an OCRD signals clinicians to assess for the presence of related ...