Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - OCD and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Written by HealthyPlace.com Staff Writer

David: Here's an audience comment:

tristatlc: To Dave1, there is a home of some sort in Michigan or Minnesota that is like a boarding school. I saw it on TV.

gorm: Is it better for a nine year old with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (emotional and cognitive rigidity and perfectionism) to go to a very structured school (somewhat rigid itself) or a more nurturing, gentle and less structured school?

Dr. Claiborn: First, let me say that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder are very different disorders. I would be somewhat skeptical about the diagnosis in a nine year old. We don't have much data on OCPD treatment but I would lean toward the less structured environment.

lprehn: What's the difference between obsessive compulsive disorder and obsessive compulsive personality disorder? Is it always a clear diagnosis for ocd, or is there a gray area?

Dr. Claiborn: OCD is defined as having obsessions and/or compulsions. OCPD is a personality disorder, which means we are talking about lifelong traits. They include rigidity, concern with rules to the extent that the point of the activity is lost, stinginess and more. If a person has obsessions or compulsions, think OCD. If not, then they don't have OCD. To me, it is not much of a gray area. It is possible to have both disorders.

David: Can you give us an example of how you might treat an obsession, let's say hand washing or constantly checking the oven to see if it's on?

Dr. Claiborn: Hand washing or checking are compulsions. An obsession is the fear that you have germs on your hand and will make your children sick, or the oven is on and you will burn the house down. To treat this, I might have the washer touch some things he/she thinks are "dirty" and get them to spread the germs around and not wash. This would make them afraid at first, but then the fear fades.

David: I know it's getting late. I want to thank Dr. Claiborn for being our guest tonight and answering questions. And I want to thank everyone in the audience for participating. I hope you found it helpful. If you haven't visited the rest of HealthyPlace.com yet, we have over 10,000 pages of content, so I invite you to take a look around.

Dr. Claiborn: Good night all.

David: Thank you again Dr. Claiborn and I hope everyone has a good evening and a good weekend. Good night everyone.

Disclaimer: We are not recommending or endorsing any of the suggestions of our guest. In fact, we strongly encourage you to talk over any therapies, remedies or suggestions with your doctor BEFORE you implement them or make any changes in your treatment.

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