Multiple pathways to inflated responsibility beliefs in obsessional problems: possible origins and implications for therapy and research

The purpose of this paper is to consider the possible origins of an inflate d sense of responsibility which occupies an important place in the cognitiv e theory of obsessive compulsive disorder (Rachman, S. (1993). Obsessions, responsibility, and guilt. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 149-154. Sal kovskis. P. M. (1985). Obsessional-compulsive Problems: A cognitive-behavio ural analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 23 (5), 571-583). Clinical e xperience and consideration of current cognitive conceptualisations of obse ssions and obsessive compulsive disorder suggest a number of possibilities, each of which is described after a brief introduction to the concept itsel f. While there are reasons to believe that some general patterns can be ide ntified, the origins of obsessional problems are best understood in terms o f complex interactions specific to each individual. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd. All rights reserved.