Theoretical Approaches to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is currently the subject of considerable research, since recent epidemiological studies have suggested that the condition is more prevalent than was originally believed. This book offers a critical discussion of the most important theories that have been put forward to explain this disorder. The book includes behavioral/learning accounts (and cognitive-behavioral supplements of these), accounts based on Pavlovian personality theories (such as those by Eysenck, Gray, and Claridge), Pierre Janet's account, cybernetic approaches, psychodynamic approaches, Reed's "cognitive-structural" account, and biological approaches. Therapeutic approaches to the disorder are also considered, insofar as they are relevant to these theories.