Overcoming Perfectionism

How to break the vicious circle of 'never good enough'

Perfectionism can be healthy but when it becomes unhealthy and turns into 'clinical perfectionism' (sometimes referred to as 'dysfunctional perfectionism') is can cause serious problems. It is associated with different mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Those suffering from clinical perfectionism tend to judge themselves predominantly in terms of the pursuit and attainment of personally demanding standards and often feel unable to be flexible and change their goals, despite the significant negative impact that the pursuit of perfectionism may have on their quality of life.

Includes:

- Description of Clinical Perfectionism
- Clinical Perfectionism and depression, anxiety, eating disorders, chronic fatigue
- Identifying the problem and monitoring
- Overcoming perfectionism - step-by-step self-help course based on CBT principles
- Avoiding relapse
- Case studies
- Other treatments - an overview

Roz Shafran (Author)
Roz Shafran is professor of translational psychology at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. She has worked at Oxford on the treatment of eating disorders using CBT. She is the author of Cognitive Behavioural Processes Across Psychological Disorders: A Transdiagnostic Approach to Research and Treatment (OUP).