General Info

Sanjaya Saxena, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist focusing on the treatment of people with obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) and related conditions such as compulsive hoarding and body dysmorphic disorder.He directs the https://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/psych/clinic-based/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-hoarding/pages/default.aspx clinic at UC San Diego Health. His clinical focus is on assessing and treating patients with OCD and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders with medication and/or cognitive-behavioral therapy.Dr. Saxena is a professor in residence in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine. His research examines the fundamental neurobiology and treatment of OCD, hoarding and related disorders, using functional and structural brain imaging technologies to understand how brain circuits mediate their symptoms. The goal is to learn why some treatments are effective and how to predict patients responses to different treatment options.Some of his recent research explores ways to more effectively treat hoarding disorder and develop novel treatments for this condition.Dr. Saxena serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation and is an advisor to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) Workgroup on Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders. He and colleagues developed the diagnostic criteria for hoarding disorder, which is now listed as a separate diagnosis in DSM-5.Dr. Saxena completed fellowship training in neuroimaging in neuropsychiatric disorders at UCLA and residency training at UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital. He earned his medical degree at University of Minnesota Medical School, where he was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. He is board-certified in psychiatry. Prior to joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. Saxena was a faculty member in psychiatry at UCLA. He was selected among the Best Doctors in America from 2005-14 and was listed among Americas Top Doctors from 2008-14.UC San Diego Health LinksFor more information, see http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/psych/clinic-based/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-hoarding/Pages/default.aspx and https://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/psych/pages/default.aspx.