Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the phenomenology of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), the disorder's controversial relationship with OCD, and the appropriateness of its inclusion in OCDs. The clinical diagnosis of OCPD is a chronic maladaptive pattern of excessive perfectionism, preoccupation with orderliness and detail, and need for control over one's environment that leads to significant distress or impairment, particularly in areas of interpersonal functioning. Individuals with this disorder are often characterized as rigid and overly controlling. They may find it difficult to relax, feel obligated to plan out their activities to the minute, and find unstructured time intolerable. Even though it is one of the most frequently diagnosed personality disorders across community and clinical samples, OCPD has received little empirical attention. There have been many theories regarding the etiology of OCPD, including biological and psychological models, but limited empirical data are available to support them. There are no empirically based treatments for OCPD. Clearly more systematic research are needed to further investigate treatment options for OCPD.