How Patterns content is made

Patterns publishes educational OCD guides and first-person essays. Aftaab Siddiqui writes and is responsible for every article. Patterns is not a clinic, and its content does not diagnose, prescribe treatment, or replace a qualified professional.

Two kinds of content

Evidence-led guides explain established ideas about OCD, assessment, and treatment. Clinical claims must be supported by a named source. These articles use neutral language and do not tell readers what diagnosis they have.

Personal essays describe Aftaab's own experience with OCD, ERP, privacy, and building Patterns. They are marked as lived experience and are not generalized into medical claims about other people.

Sources

Guides prioritize public health bodies, professional OCD organizations, treatment guidelines, systematic reviews, and peer-reviewed research. Sources appear at the end of the article so readers can inspect them directly. Statistics are not published without a source, and source quality matters more than the number of citations.

Drafting and fact checks

Aftaab chooses the question, writes from genuine experience where relevant, checks claims against the listed sources, and makes the final editorial decisions. Software tools may assist with research organization, structure, drafts, accessibility checks, and copy review. They do not supply lived experience or become the author.

Some drafts may receive confidential factual feedback before publication. Confidential feedback is not public authorship, clinical review, or endorsement. Unless a named reviewer is visibly credited on an article, Patterns makes no claim that the page was clinically reviewed. Responsibility for the published page remains with Aftaab.

Safety and scope

• Articles do not diagnose the reader or promise an outcome.
• Treatment information describes options and evidence without prescribing a plan.
• Examples avoid unnecessary graphic detail and are included only when they clarify the pattern.
• High-risk situations direct readers toward urgent local help rather than self-assessment.
• The app is presented as a journal and ERP companion, not a replacement for care.

Updates and corrections

Every article shows its publication date and the date of its last meaningful update. A date changes only when the content changes, not to create an appearance of freshness. When new evidence or guidance materially changes an article, the article is revised and its update date changes.

Factual errors are corrected as soon as they are confirmed. A material correction that changes the meaning of the article should be noted on the page. Minor spelling, formatting, and broken-link fixes do not require a correction note.

Commercial independence

Patterns articles may link to the Patterns app where it is relevant. App links do not determine the conclusion of a guide, and the informational answer comes before the product invitation. Patterns does not accept paid placement in educational articles.