OCD and Related Disorders

With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, obsessions and/or compulsions can be time-consuming and anxiety-provoking. They can manifest as excessive cleaning, checking, counting, and much more. There are over a trillion different types of OCD, which can be difficult for individuals to get a proper evaluation and treatment. Generally, these acts are not performed for pleasure, although they may result in relief from anxiety or distress.

How We Can Help

We offer gold standard assessments for OCD to ensure individuals are properly assessed to guide treatment. Strategies including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure therapy (ET) and mindfulness-based approaches are effective in alleviating symptoms of OCD.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is characterized by obsessions — intrusive and unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that are recurrent and persistent — and/or compulsions — repetitive behaviors or mental acts that are performed by an individual driven by a set of rules or in response to an obsession. Compulsions may be performed to reduce anxiety or to prevent an event from occurring; they may be performed repetitively until it feels “just-right”.

Perinatal and Postpartum OCD

Perinatal and postpartum OCD affects roughly 1-2% of pregnant or postpartum women. OCD can occur in women during pregnancy (perinatal) or immediately after childbirth (postnatal). Women who are pregnant or who have recently given birth are at an elevated risk for developing symptoms of OCD. For those already diagnosed with OCD, their symptoms of OCD may worsen during pregnancy and after childbirth.

In individuals with perinatal and postpartum OCD, the obsession and compulsions are typically focused on the unborn or newborn infant. These symptoms typically occur rapidly and can manifest as obsessions about the infant getting lost, hurt, or contaminated and compulsions, such as mental rituals, seeking reassurance, and checking. Alternatively, they can also manifest as excessive avoidance of holding the baby or bathing. These types of OCD may also present in new fathers. Symptoms of perinatal and postpartum OCD can be addressed through cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure techniques.

Perfectionism

Perfectionism is a trait often associated with OCD and typically driven by internal forces, resulting in unrealistically high expectations of oneself in social, academic, or work life. It can be encouraged through social media, social comparisons to elites, and competition. Individuals may be quick to find faults in their own or others’ work, may put off starting a project over the fear of failure and may look externally for validation and approval.

Perfectionism can manifest in many ways: self-oriented perfectionism (unrealistic desire for oneself to be perfect), other-oriented perfectionism (unrealistic desire for others to be perfect), and socially prescribed perfectionism (perceived unrealistic expectation of perfection from others). Unhealthy perfectionism can be harmful and accompanied by other disorders such as anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, and depression, among others.