ABSTRACT
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a relatively common psychiatric diagnosis, affecting about 0.8% of adults and 0.25% of children of ages 5 to 15 years (Heyman et al., 2003; Wittchen and Jacobi, 2005), although some studies report a prevalence as high as 2 to 3% by early adulthood (Zohar, 1999). As the name suggests, it is characterized by obsessions, which are recurrent thoughts usually related to anxietyprovoking themes such as fear of contamination or of disorganization, and by compulsions, which are behaviors that often appear designed to neutralize the obsessions, but are nevertheless persistently unsuccessful. In its most extreme forms, the powerful obsessions of OCD, coupled with the need to repeatedly perform the compulsive behaviors (for example, washing, checking, or ordering), can significantly impair one’s ability to perform the useful and necessary tasks of daily living.
