For the many, not just the few: Improving help-seeking for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder among UK-based ethnic minority adolescents

A UK-based ethnic minority teenager with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is far less likely to get help than their White peers, even though the condition affects both groups equally. This matters because nearly half of all OCD cases begin before age 18, making adolescence a critical window for intervention. Yet almost no UK research has examined why ethnic minority adolescents do not seek help. Existing US studies point to cultural barriers, but the UK context—with different healthcare systems, school structures, and ethnic communities—remains unexplored. Without understanding these lived experiences, efforts to close the treatment gap will remain guesswork. The researcher will use four work packages combining interviews, surveys, and arts-based participatory methods to map the specific barriers and facilitators these adolescents face. If successful, the findings could directly inform how mental health services, schools, and community organisations reach out to ethnic minority teenagers with OCD. This could reshape referral pathways, public health messaging, and clinician training to make help-seeking more accessible—not just for the few who currently find their way into treatment, but for the many who do not.