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The Relationship Between Obsessional Problems and Intrusive Thoughts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Paul M. Salkovskis ,
H. Candida Richards  and
Elizabeth Forrester
Paul M. Salkovskis
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
H. Candida Richards
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Elizabeth Forrester
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Abstract

According to the cognitive theory, obsessional problems occur when the occurrence and/or content of intrusive thoughts are interpreted as a sign of increased personal responsibility for some harmful outcome to oneself or others. The link between normal intrusive thoughts and obsessional thoughts is outlined. Current definitions of “neutralizing” and “responsibility” within the cognitive framework are examined and clarified. Responsibility-driven attempts to control cognitive activity explain obsessional and compulsive phenomena better than generalized deficit models. Recent descriptions of “meta-cognitive” factors in obsessions echo the existing cognitive model and have similar implications. An extension of the cognitive-behavioural model suggests a link between thought suppression and the perception of responsibility and to concerns about failure to act (omissions).

Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , July 1995 , pp. 281 - 299
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1995

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