Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Neuropsychological Approach

This edited book is a comprehensive presentation of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) through a neuropsychological framework and the various empirical researches carried out in this domain. The book evaluates whether the information from different research perspectives can form a strong basis for improving the available treatment options for OCD as well as devising newer and better therapy strategies. It thoroughly discusses the various neuropsychological assessment tools that can be used to study the different dimensions of OCD in terms of symptom severity, beliefs, personality and cognition, including executive functions. The book provides guidelines to enhance the skills necessary for developing clinical acumen. The distorted beliefs and functioning, familial factors and scope for inheriting the disorder and obsessive–compulsive spectrum are also described in detail. The book concludes with a discussion of obsessive–compulsive personality traits to help readers arrive at a holistic understanding of OCD, combining neuropsychological and psychoanalytical lenses.

Pritha Mukhopadhyay is Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta. She has been a brilliant and meritorious student right from the beginning of her student life. She was awarded national scholarship by the Government of India for her performance at higher secondary and graduation examinations. She was the recipient of the gold medal at the postgraduation level at the Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta in 1980. She went on to join the Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta as a lecturer in 1986. She was awarded her doctoral degree in 1991. For her postdoctoral work, she received the J. William Fulbright Scholarship and visited the School of Medicine at Temple University, USA in 1994. She is an avid researcher and her primary interests lie in the areas of psychophysiology and neuropsychology. She is the Coordinator of the UGC-funded Centre with Potential for Excellence in Particular Area, University of Calcutta, since 2011, and is carrying out cutting-edge work at her laboratory there with quantitative electroencephalogram and brain training programmes. She has received several research projects awarded by University Grants Commission, Indian Council of Social Science Research, All India Council for Technical Education and Department of Science & Technology. She has around 60 journal publications to her credit, both at national and international levels, and has authored 10 book chapters in various publications. She lives in Kolkata with her husband and daughter and loves reading books and travelling. Former head of the Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, she is widely acclaimed and respected for her academic and administrative brilliance.

Sreemoyee Tarafder, is at present an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Department of Psychology, West Bengal State University, Barasat. A promising student of psychology right from her undergraduate days, she is a gold medalist in MPhil in Clinical Psychology from the University of Calcutta where she also received the G. G. Prabhu Award for topping her class. She completed her PhD from University of Calcutta, under Prof. Pritha Mukhopadhyay and was felicitated with the Durganand Sinha Memorial Award for her doctoral work on OCD from the National Association of Psychology (NAOP). She is also a corporate trainer and a consultant clinical psychologist who is specialized in areas related to personality disorders and anxiety disorders with specific expertise in OCD. She has established scientific liaisons with University of Haifa, Israel, BRAC University and Dhaka University in Bangladesh and University of Bath, UK. She has published around 20 papers in journals of national and international repute. She is a known face on mass media and frequently appears for mental health-related shows on regional and national channels of television and radio to promote awareness of mental health at community level. She lives in Kolkata with her husband and family, and apart from her passion for films, art, theatre and dance, she loves travelling, reading and socializing.