YALE-BROWN OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE SCALE (Y-BOCS)*

Y-BOCS OCD Assessment | Yale-Brown OCD Severity Scale, Scoring & ERP Planning

This comprehensive Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) assessment is designed to help evaluate and track the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms over time. The assessment includes the 10 core Y-BOCS severity domains, separate obsession and compulsion subtotals, a total score from 0 to 40, current symptom themes, functional-impact questions, treatment targets, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) planning. It can also be used to compare scores across treatment sessions and monitor changes in OCD severity. The Y-BOCS is a clinician-guided severity measure and should be interpreted alongside a clinical interview, functional impairment, differential diagnosis, and individualized treatment planning rather than used as a stand-alone diagnostic test.

Y-BOCS OCD Assessment | Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Scoring & ERP Planning

OCD • Y-BOCS • Obsessions • Compulsions • ERP Planning

Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)

This comprehensive clinician-guided Y-BOCS resource is designed to organize OCD symptom severity, identify primary obsession and compulsion targets, document functional impact, and support treatment planning and progress monitoring. The classic Y-BOCS contains 10 severity domains rated from 0 to 4, producing separate obsession and compulsion subtotals and a total score from 0 to 40. The added sections on symptom themes, functional impact, ERP planning, and progress tracking are clinical extensions and are not part of the original Y-BOCS score.

Mark Zauss, BC-TMC, LMHC, LPC, CCMHC, NCC, ASDCS, CCTP, CCTP II, NATC, ADHD-CCSP, C-DBT, C-PD
Double Board Certified Counseling Services, Inc.

About the Y-BOCS

Clinician-Rated OCD Severity Measure

The Y-BOCS was developed as a 10-item clinician-rated measure of OCD severity that is intended to be relatively independent of the specific content of the person's obsessions and compulsions. Each item is rated from 0 to 4, creating an obsession subtotal, a compulsion subtotal, and a total score from 0 to 40. citeturn630132search3turn630132search8

Important: This page is best used as a clinician-guided scoring and documentation aid. It does not replace a comprehensive diagnostic interview, differential diagnosis, or individualized OCD treatment planning.

Client Information

Assessment Context

Client name / initials

Date

Current treatment phase

Comparison date / prior Y-BOCS score

Primary OCD theme(s) or presenting concern

Y-BOCS Severity Rating

10 Core Severity Domains

The first five ratings address obsessions and the second five address compulsions. Select the rating that best reflects the current clinical presentation.

1Time occupied by obsessions

Rate how much of the day is taken up by intrusive obsessive thoughts.

Rating

Clinical note / example

2Interference from obsessions

Rate how much obsessive thoughts disrupt work, school, relationships, or daily functioning.

Rating

Clinical note / example

3Distress from obsessions

Rate the emotional distress caused by obsessive thoughts.

Rating

Clinical note / example

4Resistance to obsessions

Rate the degree of effort used to resist or redirect obsessive thoughts.

Rating

Clinical note / example

5Control over obsessions

Rate how much control the person has over obsessive thoughts.

Rating

Clinical note / example

6Time spent on compulsions

Rate how much time is spent performing compulsive behaviors or mental rituals.

Rating

Clinical note / example

7Interference from compulsions

Rate how much compulsions disrupt work, school, relationships, or daily functioning.

Rating

Clinical note / example

8Distress if compulsions are prevented

Rate the anxiety or distress that occurs when rituals are delayed or prevented.

Rating

Clinical note / example

9Resistance to compulsions

Rate the degree of effort used to resist compulsive behavior or mental rituals.

Rating

Clinical note / example

10Control over compulsions

Rate the degree of control over compulsive behavior or mental rituals.

Rating

Clinical note / example

Functional Impact

How OCD Is Affecting Daily Life

Work / school

Relationships / family

Sleep

Daily routines / self-care

Avoidance

Reassurance seeking / family accommodation

Examples of functional impairment

Progress & Clinical Notes

Treatment Response

Prior total Y-BOCS score

Weeks since prior assessment

Medication changes since prior assessment

ERP / CBT progress since prior assessment

Clinician formulation / treatment notes

Results

Y-BOCS Scoring Summary

Obsessions subtotal0 / 20Items 1–5

Compulsions subtotal0 / 20Items 6–10

Total Y-BOCS0 / 40Items 1–10

Change from prior--If prior score entered

Interpretation: The Y-BOCS total is a severity measure, not a stand-alone diagnostic test. Score interpretation should be integrated with clinical interview, functional impairment, symptom themes, insight, differential diagnosis, and treatment history.

Descriptive Severity Guide

Common Clinical Interpretation Ranges

Total score	Common descriptive range	Clinical use
0–7	Subclinical / minimal	Symptoms may be limited or currently well controlled.
8–15	Mild	OCD symptoms are present but may cause limited or manageable impairment.
16–23	Moderate	Symptoms typically create meaningful distress or interference.
24–31	Severe	Obsessions and compulsions are likely causing substantial interference.
32–40	Extreme	Symptoms may be highly time-consuming, distressing, and disabling.

Severity bands are descriptive aids and should not be treated as diagnostic cutoffs.

AI-Style Summary

Automated Clinical Summary

This summary is generated locally using rule-based logic. No information is sent to an external AI service. Review and edit before using it in clinical documentation.

Complete the assessment and select “Calculate + AI-Style Summary.”

Clinical Sources & References

Selected Sources

Goodman, W. K., Price, L. H., Rasmussen, S. A., et al. (1989). The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. I. Development, use, and reliability. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46(11), 1006–1011. The original paper describes the Y-BOCS as a 10-item clinician-rated severity scale with separate obsession and compulsion subtotals and a 0–40 total. citeturn630132search3

Goodman, W. K., Price, L. H., Rasmussen, S. A., et al. (1989). The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. II. Validity. Archives of General Psychiatry, 46(11), 1012–1016. citeturn630132search8

Mark Zauss Therapy. Existing Y-BOCS OCD Assessment page. The current page contains separate obsession and compulsion ratings, automatic 0–40 scoring, and a symptom checklist for current/past OCD themes. citeturn630132search0

Clinical note: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a core evidence-based behavioral treatment for OCD. This page adds ERP planning and functional-impact fields to support treatment discussion; those additions are not part of the original Y-BOCS score.

This webpage is intended as a clinician-guided scoring, documentation, and treatment-planning aid. The symptom-theme checklist, functional-impact ratings, ERP planning fields, progress comparison, and AI-style summary are clinical extensions and are not part of the original 10-item Y-BOCS score.