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Good Psychiatric Management for Obsessive–Compulsive Personality Disorder

  • Personality and Impulse Control Disorders (R Lee, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is a prevalent personality disorder that frequently presents in health care settings with other psychiatric comorbidities. However, no OCPD treatment guidelines for a general mental health clinician have been proposed.

This review summarizes current, clinically relevant knowledge about OCPD and introduces a pragmatic and accessible treatment model: Good Psychiatric Management (GPM) for OCPD.

Recent Findings

GPM for OCPD offers clinicians a straightforward framework for understanding and treating OCPD patients, informed by eight principles: (1) diagnostic disclosure with assessment of the effect of perfectionism and rigidity on occupational and social life, (2) psychoeducation regarding the role of over-reliance on overcontrol as a core mechanism of instability, (3) focus on life outside of treatment as a grounds for personal growth, (4) use of corrective experiences to dispel rigidly held beliefs and promote more flexible personality functioning, (5) managing comorbidities, (6) use of multimodal treatments, (7) managing safety using general suicide risk assessment, and (8) conservative pharmacological management.

Summary

Guided by up-to-date knowledge about OCPD, an accessible OCPD conceptualization, and GPM’s eight principles, the generalist mental health clinician can help their patient to build a meaningful life beyond OCPD symptoms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Ellen F. Finch

  2. Gunderson Personality Disorders Institute, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA

    Lois W. Choi-Kain

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Lois W. Choi-Kain & Jane L. Eisen

  4. Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Evan A. Iliakis

  5. Center of Excellence in Depression and Anxiety Disorders, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA

    Jane L. Eisen

  6. Division of Psychiatry Research, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Northwell Health, Glen Oaks, NY, USA

    Anthony Pinto

  7. Department of Psychiatry, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY, USA

    Anthony Pinto

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  1. Ellen F. Finch
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  3. Evan A. Iliakis
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  4. Jane L. Eisen
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Correspondence to Lois W. Choi-Kain.

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Conflict of Interest

Ellen F. Finch declares that she has no conflict of interest. Jane L. Eisen declares that she has no conflict of interest. Anthony Pinto declares that he has no conflict of interest. Evan A. Iliakis declares that he has no conflict of interest. Lois W. Choi-Kain receives royalties from American Psychiatric Association Publishing and Springer Publishing as an editor and co-author.

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Finch, E.F., Choi-Kain, L.W., Iliakis, E.A. et al. Good Psychiatric Management for Obsessive–Compulsive Personality Disorder. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep 8, 160–171 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40473-021-00239-4

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