The behavioural treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorders

The term obsessive–compulsive has been applied to a large variety of disturbances of thought and behaviour encountered in psychiatric practice. These include the occurrence of prolonged periods of brooding, doubting and speculation with the inability of reaching a solution, the presence of strong urges or impulses to carry out acts which are unacceptable to the patient and which may give rise to feelings of guilt or anxiety, and the occurrence of sometimes elaborate rituals which are usually viewed by the patient as being senseless or embarrassing.