A cognitive theory of obsessions

Rachman, S.

doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(97)00040-5

Cited by 929 publications

(443 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Furthermore, some authors argue that if the mechanism of change (i.e., change in cognitions) is directly targeted (i.e., through cognitive interventions), treatment effects will be larger (Clark, 1999;Rachman, 1997). Several empirical studies confirm that the use of cognitive interventions (slightly) enhances treatment outcome (Bryant et al, 2008;Clark et al, 2006;Mattick, Peters, & Clarke, 1989;McMillan & Lee, 2010;Salkovskis, Hackman, Wells, Gelder, & Clark, 2007).…”

Section: Pathways To Change In One-session Exposure With and Without mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways to change in one-session exposure with and without cognitive intervention: An exploratory study in spider phobia

Raes

Koster

Loeys

et al. 2011

Journal of Anxiety Disorders

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Section: Pathways To Change In One-session Exposure With and Without mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways to change in one-session exposure with and without cognitive intervention: An exploratory study in spider phobia

Raes

Koster

Loeys

et al. 2011

Journal of Anxiety Disorders

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“…The need of overcoming these limitations led cognitive authors to focus on the distorted thoughts and dysfunctional beliefs, which were present in some degree in most OCD patients. [21][22][23][24][25][26] It was consensually proposed their distribution in six domains: tendency to overestimate the risk and the responsibility; the importance and the power of thoughts and the need of controlling them; the need of certainty; and perfectionism. 27 This proposal led to explanation models about the origin of OC symptoms based on the cognitive theory, to the development of tools to identify and measure the intensity of dysfunctional beliefs in OCD, to verify their association with OC symptoms, and techniques for correcting them.…”

Section: The Cognitive Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Accordingly, the lower the importance patients attribute to their intrusive thoughts, the lower the impulse to perform rituals. [21][22][23][24][25] 2) Cognitive theory for the origin of compulsions A complement to this theory was proposed by Rachman 29 in order to explain the origin of compulsions. Based on Salkovskis' proposal that the overvalued responsibility would be the central issue in OCD, Rachman proposed an explanative hypothesis for the origin of compulsions.…”

Section: Cognitive Theory For Oc Symptomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A terapia cognitivo-comportamental no transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo

Cordioli¹

2008

Rev. Bras. Psiquiatr.

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Section: Anxiety Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In one study, Purdon, Rowa, and Antony (2007) asked OCD patients to keep a detailed diary of their suppression attempts over a three-day period and found that individuals with OCD indeed engage in frequent, effortful, unsuccessful suppression of unwanted thoughts. According to the cognitive-behavioral perspective on OCD (Rachman, 1997;Salkovskis, 1985), the intrusive thoughts that characterize many psychological disorders Hidden Complications 7 may persist because of faulty pre-existing beliefs, faulty interpretations of intrusions, and futile efforts to suppress the intrusive thoughts.The counterproductive effects of suppressing negative, intrusive thoughts in non-clinical samples have been observed fairly consistently (for exceptions, see Kelly & Kahn, 1994;Purdon & Clark, 2001). In a series of studies using non-clinical analogue samples, Salkovskis and colleagues (Salkovskis & Campbell, 1994;Salkovskis & Reynolds, 1994;Trinder & Salkovskis, 1994) observed a suppression-related increase in intrusive thoughts both in the lab and over a four-day naturalistic follow-up.…”

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confidence: 99%

Hidden Complications of Thought Suppression

Najmi¹,

Wegner²

2009

International Journal of Cognitive Therapy

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Although the suppression of thoughts may seem to be an effective solution, this strategy can lead to an exacerbation of the very thought that one is attempting to suppress. This ironic effect is the most obvious unwanted outcome of suppression and has now been investigated empirically for more than two decades. However, the fact that suppression is an effortful process implies that, even when suppression does not lead to an ironic rebound of the unwanted thought, it puts an insidious cognitive load on the individual attempting to suppress. Moreover, whether or not suppression leads to an exacerbation of the unwanted thought, it is rarely successful, and hence adds to the individual's distress. In this article we describe the phenomenon of suppression and consider how it might complicate a range of emotional disorders. Taken together, studies on thought suppression in psychopathology present a more nuanced picture now than was emerging in the early years of its investigation. Some evidence is consistent with the idea that the counterproductive effects of suppression are causally implicated in the disorder, but for the most part a more parsimonious conclusion is that thought suppression acts as a complication of the disorder. In certain disorders, suppression complicates the disorder by leading to an ironic rebound of the unwanted thoughts. In all disorders, the cost of undertaking suppression is a persistent cognitive load, which, in turn undermines the ability to suppress, and hence sets off a cycle of failed expectations and distress. Hidden Complications 1Much to his annoyance, a thought popped into his mind. It was very clear and very distinct, and he had now come to recognize these thoughts for what they were. His instinct was to resist them. They were the preordained promptings from the dark and locked off parts of his mind. He sat still and ignored the thought furiously. It nagged at him. He ignored it. It nagged at him. He ignored it. It nagged at him. He gave in to it. Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980, p. 172) Sometimes science fiction can remind us of science fact. In the case of this fantasy novel by Douglas Adams, the fact of which we are reminded is the insistent and inevitable return of an unwanted thought. Thoughts we put out of mind seem to come back with a vengeance that makes us wonder whether we may have gone mad. Now as it happens, the hypothesis that recurrent unwanted intrusive thoughts might be associated with psychopathology has occurred to many psychologists over the years (Clark, 2005;Rachman & De Silva, 1978). This paper reviews research on how the suppression of such unwanted thoughts is related to psychological disorder.The experience of mental disorder is often associated with painful thoughts and feelings and thus will commonly motivate suppression as a reaction (Najmi & Wegner, in press;Wegner, 1989). Most early research on intrusive and obsessive thoughts operated under the assumption that suppression is always reactive in this way, and so ...

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A cognitive theory of obsessions

Cited by 929 publications

References 30 publications

Pathways to change in one-session exposure with and without cognitive intervention: An exploratory study in spider phobia

Pathways to change in one-session exposure with and without cognitive intervention: An exploratory study in spider phobia

A terapia cognitivo-comportamental no transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo

Hidden Complications of Thought Suppression

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