Show notes
The Bonnies speak with Dr. Anthony Pinto, senior director of the Northwell Health OCD Center and a clinical and research authority on obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). They discuss his self-help workbook, which offers practical exercises for people with OCPD and may also be useful to people who relate to some of its traits, such as perfectionism, rigidity, and difficulty delegating.
Dr. Pinto explains how OCPD is identified through persistent, pervasive traits that cause problems in a person’s life, and review its diagnostic criteria and related difficulties, including procrastination and decision-making. They also discuss how OCPD differs from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): OCD involves unwanted, fear-based thoughts and compulsions, while OCPD traits are generally experienced as part of a person’s way of thinking and behaving.
Dr. Pinto goes on to discuss possible influences on OCPD, including heredity and aspects of a person’s environment, and consider how its traits may be helpful in some settings while causing stress or difficulties in relationships and other parts of life. He emphasizes that OCPD is treatable and that treatment can preserve a person’s strengths while addressing areas where they feel stuck.
They cover treatment approaches that include cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, emotion regulation, and behavioral experiments. These can help people tolerate uncertainty, adjust their effort to a task’s importance, and make more room for relationships, leisure, and other valued areas. They also discuss how perfectionism can contribute to procrastination, preserving an ideal, and prolonged decision-making.
HIGHLIGHTS:
5:08 Meet Dr. Anthony Pinto
10:16 What Makes a Personality Disorder?
18:05 OCPD Traits and Diagnostic Criteria
24:09 How OCPD Develops
26:52 OCPD Versus OCD
31:47 When OCPD Traits Help—and Hurt
35:16 Treatment: Values, Flexibility, and “Good Enough”
46:15 Procrastination and the Perfect Ideal
52:35 Research, Resources, and Closing Remarks
connect with Dr. Pinto
website: https://www.ocpd.org/new-york-ocpd-directory/anthony-pinto-phd
resources
The Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder Workbook is the first self-help book by experts in OCPD to offer practical and accessible CBT skills for managing the maladaptive behaviors of OCPD. The book is published by New Harbinger and is available in both hard copy and e-book. Here’s the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Obsessive-Compulsive-Personality-Disorder-Workbook-Relationships_and/dp/1648486487
Drs Pinto and Wheaton will be offering a full day course on Friday, January 29, 2027. The virtual CME course will be hosted by McLean Hospital. https://mclean.cloud-cme.com/course/courseoverview?P=0&EID=1009&IsExhibitor=false
The Northwell Health OCD Center is an outpatient specialty program for OCD and OCPD. The program offers individual and group therapy as well as medication management. Most forms of government and commercial insurance are accepted. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Center - Zucker Hillside Hospital | Northwell Health
The website of the OCPD Foundation (www.ocpd.org) continues to be updated with new content for individuals and families affected by OCPD. The site hosts the POPS, a self-report questionnaire for OCPD traits and severity, a message board, as well as helpful links for articles, podcast/media interviews, and other education about OCPD. There’s even a link for a free online support group that meets twice per month. The site also includes tailored content for clinicians, including training resources on treating OCPD.
Dr. Pinto is collaborating with a researcher at VCU (Dr. Haynos) who was recently funded by NIMH to study decision making in OCPD (study flyer is attached). Recruitment is underway so please spread the word to your patients. The study is also recruiting for patients with OCD as well as those with anorexia nervosa. A great opportunity to support much needed research in OCPD! The study involves interviews that are done virtually and then a brain scan in Virginia. Compensation provided and travel costs covered.
Here is a description of the study:
Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder Decision-Making Study
The REPEAT Lab at Virginia Commonwealth University is currently recruiting adult participants who have symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD; e.g., need for order, control, perfection) and healthy adults without a history of OCPD for a research study.
The goal of the study is to understand if decision-making and its underlying brain function differs between individuals in these different groups. Participants in this study complete 3 study visits over the course of the year. The visits will involve questionnaires and interviews about participants’ mental health and health behaviors (e.g., eating habits), height and blind weight measurement, a brief medical screening with vitals, and blood draw (for some participants), and computer tasks completed during an fMRI brain scan.
Additionally, on 2 occasions between visits, participants will complete online surveys on their smartphone for 2 weeks. Participants will receive up to $500 for completing this study (plus potential bonuses for task and survey performance).
Some aspects of the study can be conducted remotely and reimbursement may be available for some travel costs. For more information, please contact the REPEAT Lab at 804-828-2658 or repeat@vcu.edu, or click here.
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The content of Anxiety Matters Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute mental health or medical advice, nor is it a substitute for professional mental health or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, call emergency services or a local crisis line.
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