Attachment, Intimacy and OCD Symotomatology

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Is there a connection between attachment difficulties, problems with intimacy and obsessive –compulsive symptomatology? If so, what is it?

• IRAS ID

  176785

• Contact name

  Beverley Mears

• Contact email

  beverley.mears@kmpt.nhs.uk

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 9 months, 30 days

• Research summary

  Location:
  This study, to be carried out in a NHS Secondary Care Mental Health Service, will explore the association between OCD, early attachment disturbance and sexual behavior in adulthood.
  Why:
  Particular attention will be paid to understanding more about the influence of early attachment wounds which impact upon the ability to connect with an adult attachment figure in a healthy way. Little is known about this within the field and any findings will develop theoretical understanding of the etiology of OCD as well as point to the possibility of extending the range of treatment interventions currently recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) for OCD. The first stage of the study will be a structured interview and will include a battery of questionnaires and will be completed by up to 50 participants in a 60-90 min session. The second stage of the study will involve a case study thematic analysis over 20 sessions, each lasting 50 minutes. Two volunteers will be sought from participants scoring the highest scores within the Sexuality Scale Questionnaire. The thematic analysis will involve recording of psychotherapy sessions in order to conduct a thematic analysis of the data. Three recordings taken from equidistant points in the therapy (say session 5, 10 and 15) for each participant will be transcribed in order to complete an analysis of material relevent to the topic of study. A

  Inclusion criteria:

  A patient open to the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) in Medway.

  Obsessive Compulsive symptoms including OCD thoughts and/or behaviours.

  Exclusion criteria:
  Suffering with psychosis.
  In emotional crisis at this stage.
  A diagnosis of OCD Personality Disorder ( axis 11 of the DSM Diagnostic Statistical Manual).
  The summary of the study will be written up as part of a doctoral thesis.

• REC name

  London - South East Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  15/LO/1129

• Date of REC Opinion

  28 Jul 2015

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion