An obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a chronic disorder that entails a maladaptive pattern of excess preoccupation, perfectionism, detail, orderliness, and control. The condition leads to significant functional impairment or distress due to excessive devotion to a habit or behavior. Doctors lookout for compulsive and repetitive actions exhibited by an individual before making a diagnosis. An obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a mental disorder depicted through obsession and treated using psychoanalytic and biological intervention methods.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCPD) is a mental disorder-affecting people of all ages. The affected people experience recurrent, unwanted ideas, thoughts, and obsessions that drive them into doing something repeatedly. Most of the common compulsions include cleaning, washing hands, or checking on things, which hinders social interactions and daily activities of the affected patients (Dixon-Gordon et al., 2011). Studies reveal that OCPD is one of the most common personality disorders affecting around 2.1 to 7.9% of Americans (Pinto, 2016). The traits of the ailment are manifested through functional impairment due to the drive for perfection. Such individuals are perceived as controlling, and rigid because of their high expectations for others to conform to their way of doing things. OCPD patients experience less anxiety and few reasons for living hence a rate of suicide attempts.
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According to the DSM-5 criteria, an individual should manifest moderate impairment in function through rigid perfectionism behavior. Patients should manifest at least to pathological personality traits like intimacy avoidance, perseveration, or restricted affectivity (Diedrich & Voderholzer, 2015). However, due to the dynamic criteria of diagnostic, various tools are used in assessing OCPD. The relationship between obsessive-compulsive disorder and OCPD has been a major source of controversy. As a result, doctors look out for ego-syntonic behavior to differentiate this disorder from other forms of mental illnesses.
OCPD highly contributes to other forms of psychiatric morbidity, hence the need to combine psychoanalytic and biological etiologies. Psychological interventions encompass behavioral interventions like classical behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. This treatment method encourages patients to challenge their beliefs (Paris, 2004). Similarly, psychodynamic therapies seek to aid patients to reflect and understand their inner mental processes and make connections with their difficulties (Diedrich & Voderholzer, 2015). Physicians further incorporate dialectical behavioral therapy that seeks to improve skills, help change behavior, and ability to contain difficult emotions. The heritability of compulsive character has compelled doctors to explore biological intervention alternatives. Studies reveal that OCPD develops due to inborn systemizing mechanisms manifested through tendencies of stubbornness, rigidity, and perfectionism. Moreover, further research reveals a high association between OCPD and serotonin transporter 5HTTLPR, dopamine D3 receptor, and derailed response of prolactin in indicating serotonergic dysfunctions (Diedrich & Voderholzer, 2015). Therefore, biological interventions include pharmacological treatment that seeks to treat the neurological regions in the limbic system.
Patients do not always realize that they have OCPD disorder due to the minimal understanding of the disorder. Therefore, when sharing my diagnostic, I will strive to maintain professionalism to avoid damaging our therapeutic relationship. I will start by informing the patient about the various effects of his condition on social relationships and highlight suitable intervention methods while setting realistic goals. Informing the patient that his condition is treatable will enable him to maintain a positive mindset that will facilitate healing.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a chronic mental disorder manifested through obsessive orderliness, preoccupation, detail, and control. Individuals with this disorder exhibit functional and social impairment due to their obsession with a habit. Doctors diagnose this ailment by looking for receptive actions that differentiate it from other mental disorders. OCPD is treated using biological and psychological intervention methods that seek to change the behaviour of patients.
References
Diedrich, A. & Voderholzer, U. (2015). obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: A current review. Current Psychiatry Reports , 17 (2).
Dixon-Gordon, K., Turner, B.J., &Chapman, A. (2011). Psychotherapy for personality disorders. International Reviews of Psychiatry , 23, 282-302.
Paris, J. (2004). Personality disorder over time: Implications for psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy , 58(4), 420- 429.
Pinto, A. (2016). Treatment of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. In E. A. Storch & A. B. Lewin (Eds.), Clinical handbook of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: A case-based approach to treating pediatric and adult populations (p. 415–429). Springer International Publishing .
