At the Yale Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds on June 8, Glen Gabbard, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, spoke about treating physicians with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). He imparted lessons from his practice to the graduating psychiatry residents and an audience of psychiatric professionals.
OCPD differs from the more commonly known obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Contrary to OCD, OCPD patients do not have intrusive thoughts or compulsions. Instead, OCPD is characterized by preoccupation with details, excessive devotion to work, perfectionism, mental and interpersonal control, inflexibility, and a reluctance to delegate.
Several of these OCPD traits, like excessive devotion to work and perfectionism, also characterize many physicians without the condition and can lead to burnout. He encouraged graduating residents not to postpone plans for a personal life, to “do what you want to do now.”
From treating OCPD patients, Gabbard knows how perfectionism can drive people to depression, even suicide. “Yes, it’s part of OCPD, but it’s culturally ingrained in us,” he said. Instead, he urged the audience of clinicians to strive for excellence in place of perfection.