OCD Stockholm Syndrome

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The “Stockholm Syndrome” is a term used to describe the phenomenon of hostages defending their captors. As a psychotherapist specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), I have seen something akin to the Stockholm Syndrome many times. Clients struggling with this issue often have a mysterious internal debate that goes something like this:

“If I hate OCD so much, why do I fight so hard to keep it around? Maybe my OCD is a good thing. Maybe I need my OCD. After all, If I am not my OCD, then who am I?”

This scenario typically (although not always) presents itself several months into therapy, long after the client has gained some autonomy from their OCD through the use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

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Tags: Anxiety, Cognitive Restructuring, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention, Health, Mental Health, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Stockholm Syndrome