Psychoanalysis and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Soffer-Dudek, Nir

doi:10.4324/9781003326588-3

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…In OCD/S, intense absorption in ruminations and obsessions engulfing awareness inwardly may lead to dissociative detachment upon exiting the absorbed state ( Soffer-Dudek, 2014 ). As mentioned above, O’Connor and Aardema (2012) have described the obsessive state as an experience of the world as if in a dissociative “bubble.” More recently, in a linguistic-philosophical exploration of the dynamics of OCD, Soffer-Dudek (2023) asserted that OCD clients repeatedly attempt, in vain, to uncover “true” inner states supposedly underlying their own verbal constructions, only leading them to experience a sense of alienation from themselves.…”

Section: The Association Of Dissociative Experiences With Obsessive-c...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms and dissociative experiences: Suggested underlying mechanisms and implications for science and practice

Soffer‐Dudek

2023

Front. Psychol.

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A strong and specific link between obsessive-compulsive disorder or symptoms (OCD/S) and a tendency for dissociative experiences (e.g., depersonalization-derealization, absorption and imaginative involvement) cannot be explained by trauma and is poorly understood. The present theoretical formulation proposes five different models conceptualizing the relationship. According to Model 1, dissociative experiences result from OCD/S through inward-focused attention and repetition. According to Model 2, dissociative absorption causally brings about both OCD/S and associated cognitive risk factors, such as thought-action fusion, partly through impoverished sense of agency. The remaining models highlight common underlying causal mechanisms: temporo-parietal abnormalities impairing embodiment and sensory integration (Model 3); sleep alterations causing sleepiness and dreamlike thought or mixed sleep-wake states (Model 4); and a hyperactive, intrusive imagery system with a tendency for pictorial thinking (Model 5). The latter model relates to Maladaptive Daydreaming, a suggested dissociative syndrome with strong ties to the obsessive-compulsive spectrum. These five models point to potential directions for future research, as these theoretical accounts may aid the two fields in interacting with each other, to the benefit of both. Finally, several dissociation-informed paths for further developing clinical intervention in OCD are identified.

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Section: The Association Of Dissociative Experiences With Obsessive-c...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms and dissociative experiences: Suggested underlying mechanisms and implications for science and practice

Soffer‐Dudek

2023

Front. Psychol.

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“…Additionally, the psychoanalytic approach to treating OCD may benefit from considering Kierkegaard’s notion of existential certainty, which is based on commitment, rather than evidence. In this perspective, the therapeutic role would be to support the OCD patient’s life concerns amid their tormenting doubts, without seeking resolution through the discovery of psychological truths [ 34 ].…”

Section: The World Of the Obsessive Patient: Phenomenological Conside...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenomenological Considerations of the World of the Obsessive Patient

Demaria

Pontillo

Bellantoni

et al. 2023

JCM

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Despite significant scientific advances in research on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the psychological and behavioral symptoms of this pathological condition remain hard to understand, until they seem paradoxical. The present work seeks to consider the significance and potential contribution of a phenomenological reading of OCD and how phenomenalism has influenced some cognitive models of this disorder. Transcendental phenomenology is a philosophical approach that attaches primary importance to intuitive experience and considers all phenomena intrinsically associated with the subject’s inner world. Thus, the subject’s intuition is considered the starting point for understanding their essential experience. This approach has had a profound influence on modern cognitive sciences. Among current cognitive models, post-rationalist cognitivism and cognitive neuropsychological psychotherapy seem most effective in capturing the world experiences of OCD patients. Both apply a phenomenological approach to identify these experiences, which are typically characterized by hyper-reflexivity, at the expense of ‘natural evidence.’ The models have found that OCD patients experience the world emotionally as a sterile set of rules, and this experience determines their suffering.

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Phenomenological Considerations of the World of the Obsessive Patient

Demaria¹,

Pontillo²,

Bellantoni³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) remains, despite significant scientific progress, a pathological condition that is incomprehensible, due toits paradoxical psychological and behavioral symptoms. The presentwork aims at assessing current phenomenological understandings of this pathology. Among the cognitive models used today, post-rationalist cognitivism and cognitive neuropsychological psychotherapy, which both incorporate a phenomenological approach, seem most effective at grasping OCD patients’ experiences of the world, which are typically characterized by hyper-reflexivity, at the expense of "natural evidence." For OCD patients, the emotional sense of the world becomes a set of sterile rules that determine a suffering life.

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Psychoanalysis and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms and dissociative experiences: Suggested underlying mechanisms and implications for science and practice

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms and dissociative experiences: Suggested underlying mechanisms and implications for science and practice

Phenomenological Considerations of the World of the Obsessive Patient

Phenomenological Considerations of the World of the Obsessive Patient

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