Comparing the Effects of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on the Perfectionism of Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Aims: Despite the high prevalence of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), there are few therapeutic resources in its treatment. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of two therapeutic approaches of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on improving the perfectionism of patients with Obsessive-Compulsive personality disorder. Methods & Materials: This is a quasi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design using a control group. The study population consisted of 73 patients with OCPD referred to the Ehya counseling center in Rasht, Iran in 2017. Of these, 45 were selected using a purposive sampling method and randomly assigned into two intervention groups and one control group (each with 15 samples). Data were collected using Hill’s perfectionism inventory at three pretest, posttest and follow up phases. Collected data were analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA). Findings: The two therapeutic approaches of CBT (P=0.001) and ACT (P=0.000) had a significant effect on the perfectionism of OCPD patients. Pairwise comparison of groups using Bonferroni test indicated that ACT had more significant effect on perfectionism in comparison with CBT (P=0.035). Meanwhile, the one-month follow-up showed the sustainability and improvement of the results. Conclusion: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), due to focusing on psychological flexibility, is more effective than CBT in improving the perfectionism of OCPD patients.