Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Perfectionism: Initial Evaluation Studies

Abstract

This article describes an exploratory social work study that examined the efficacy of cognitive- behavioral treatment of perfectionism. A single-system design was used to analyze change due to the intervention. Three instruments, two standardized and one self-anchored, were used to collect data across the phases of the ABA design. The study was replicated with nine clients. Analysis of the data indicated that the clients experienced a considerable reduction in their levels of perfectionism as a result of the cognitive-behavioral intervention. The results also indicated that several issues were associated with perfectionism, including issues such as self-criticism, difficulty in dealing with feedback, procrastination, and unrealistic goal setting. Consideration was given to the limitations of the study as well as its applications to social work practice and research.

The Role of Perfectionism in Relation to an Intervention to Reduce Anxious and Depressive Symptoms in Children

“…Therapy was 10-12 weeks and included challenging cognitive distortions and behavioural approaches. Client reports supported a clinically significant decrease in perfectionist beliefs (Ferguson and Rodway 1994). More recently, Kutlesa and Arthur (2008) found efficacy for group treatment addressing perfectionism.…”

“…Ferguson and Rodway (1994) utilized a single-subject research design to demonstrate the efficacy of CBT strategies focused on reducing perfectionism with nine adults, primarily women with an age range of 18-45 years. Therapy was 10-12 weeks and included challenging cognitive distortions and behavioural approaches.…”

“…There is emerging evidence that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be useful for reducing perfectionism among adults (e.g., Ferguson and Rodway 1994;Kutlesa and Arthur 2008), but this has not been examined in children. While intervention may reduce perfectionism, the core features of perfectionism may interfere with essential components of therapy.…”

Your Best Life: Perfectionism—The Bane of Happiness

“…Overcoming perfectionism is a recovery process, more like nurturing a flower's bloom than like fixing a broken object'' [7]. Beyond Greenspon's view, recovery can be attained with the help of a therapist, and cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to be especially effective [4]. A trained therapist can help examine thoughts that evoke anxiety and fear and reframe them into more realistic cognitions.…”

Is Perfectionism Categorical or Dimensional? A Taxometric Analysis

“…For example, perfectionism has been shown to impede the successful treatment of depression regardless of the treatment method employed (Blatt, Quinlan, Pilkonis, & Shea, 1995). Despite the wealth of research demonstrating an association between perfectionism and psychopathology, relatively little systematic research has been conducted on the treatment of perfectionism (Ferguson & Rodway, 1994;Shafran & Mansell, 2001). Thus, knowing the latent structure of perfectionism may help to guide the creation and evaluation of treatment methods.…”