Is this a 'diagnosis' and do i have to tell work?

[TurnLeftAtTheRoundabout]

So we have a healthcare plan with work that is confidential. We get an allowance but dont have to declare when we are using it or anything. It's just there if we need it.

I have become concerned about my anxiety and the way it is affecting my life recently so booked a mental health consultation with the doctor through the allowance.
It was today and he has said I have OCD and wants me to book another appointment with him, go through some cbt. I told him.i couldn't afford it and we only have 6 sessions through work and he said we can make a really good start through that etc.

Is this a diagnosis? I do want help and will book the sessions, but do I have to tell my boss 1)the dx (if it is one) and is this a good or bad idea to tell them or 2) that I am going through cbt?

And also, does anyone know how this transfers to the nhs records wise? He has asked my gp details so do I assume it gets sent over there at some point? No idea how these things work!

It's hard to tell if that was a diagnosis or not. I guess it depends whether they are qualified to make a diagnosis and whether they did an in-depth enough assessment. Often this would use validated questionnaires - did you do one?

When I sought help for OCD, the therapist said my symptoms were consistent with OCD and she would treat on that basis. She made it clear it wasn't a diagnosis. Also 6 sessions did really help with mine ‐ I did have more but the biggest impact was the earlier ones.

Regarding your boss, I really don't see why you would need to tell them at all either about OCD or about CBT. Unless you want to because you need some reasonable adjustments.

Hmm. He said this is ocd. And that we would "fight it" to fix it together?

Was yours through private or nhs? Any idea re the gp stuff? Does it get sent over etc? I guess because work can request our medical records, so that kind of determines if I tell them or not.

Mine was private but with a therapist who normally works in the NHS.

I'm leaning towards it probably not being an official diagnosis from the context - you didn't say if you completed any questionnaires?

I don't really know about the GP details and your records. It could be for safeguarding as under certain circumstances e.g. imminent harm to yourself or others might mean that they have to break confidentiality and that could involve contacting your GP?

I'm just guessing so I think the best thing would be to ask the person you spoke to. They're the only one who can give you answers really.

Why would your work be able to request your medical records? That feels like a huge confidentiality issue and you should definitely have to give consent for anything like that.

Unless you have a job where your health has big safety risks and something in your contract that says you need to tell them about changes in your health, I really can't see why you should have to tell them about having OCD. They don't have any right to know that kind of personal information unless it directly affects your work somehow i.e. you are a driver and you have epilepsy.

Good luck treating the OCD and hope your mental health improves a lot as a result.

What are his qualifications?