[Kieron O'Connor's scientific contribution to the characterization and treatment of Tourette's syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorders].

Background Researcher and psychologist Kieron Philip O'Connor (1950-2019) pioneered the cognitive and behavioural approach at the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal (IUSMM). It was there that he began a career as a clinical researcher studying Tourette's syndrome (TS) and obsessive-compulsive and related disorder (OCD). At the time, apart from some behavioural approaches, little cognitive intervention was available to treat chronic tics and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The role of feared possible selves in the relationship between inferential confusion and obsessive-compulsive symptoms: A replication and extension in a clinical sample.

Objectives: The feared possible self refers to an imagined version of self that one is afraid of being or becoming. Previous evidence has shown that dysfunctional reasoning (i.e.

The COGINS: A New Measure of Cognitive Insight in Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.

Research suggests that individuals with obsessive-compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs) with lower insight show a poorer response to cognitive behavioral therapy and might benefit from alternative treatments. However, there are inconsistencies in the literature regarding the definition and measurement of insight. This study endeavored to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Cognitive Obsessional Insight Scale (COGINS), a novel self-report measure of cognitive insight in OCRDs.

Cross-sectional direct and indirect relationships between the corrupted feared self and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a clinical sample: The role of mental contamination.

Objectives: There is a significant relationship between a general feared self and contact contamination concerns in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), especially when the influence of mental contamination is considered a part of this relationship. However, these associations have not been explored in a clinical OCD sample when using each dimension of the multidimensional conceptualization of the feared self as the predictor (i.e.

COVID-19 related stress and fears of contamination: the impact of feared self-perceptions.

Specific concerns have been raised for those suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly those suffering from contamination fear. Investigation in non-clinical and OCD samples have reported an increase in contamination symptoms in association with the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, stress related to COVID-19 has been found to be a major predictor of an increase in contamination symptoms.

The relevance of dysfunctional reasoning to OCD and its treatment: Further evidence for inferential confusion utilizing a new task-based measure.

Background And Objectives: Previous research has highlighted the role of dysfunctional reasoning processes (i.e. "inferential confusion") in the development and maintenance of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Further validation of the Multidimensional Version of the Fear-of-Self Questionnaire in a Persian non-clinical and clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder sample.

Previous research has shown that vulnerable self-themes and feared self-perceptions may play an important role in the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In particular, the recently validated Multidimensional Version of the Fear-of-Self Questionnaire (FSQ-MV) has shown strong relationships with OCD symptoms independent of cognitive constructs and negative mood in non-clinical samples. The current study aimed to further evaluate the validity and reliability of a Persian version of the FSQ-MV in OCD patients (N = 300), as well as non-clinical individuals (N = 300).

Evaluation of Inference-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial with Three Treatment Modalities.

Introduction: Inference-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (I-CBT) is a specialized psychological treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) without deliberate and prolonged exposure and response prevention (ERP) that focuses on strengthening reality-based reasoning and correcting the dysfunctional reasoning giving rise to erroneous obsessional doubts and ideas.

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of I-CBT through a comparison with appraisal-based cognitive behavioral therapy (A-CBT) and an adapted mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention.

Methods: This was a two-site, parallel-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing I-CBT with A-CBT.

The relationship between obsessions and the self: Feared and actual self-descriptions in a clinical obsessive-compulsive disorder sample.

Cognitive models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) posit the relevance of the self in OCD, although the nature of this association is still unclear. We aimed to explore actual and feared selves and its association with obsessions and intrusions in a group of OCD patients. A group of 58 patients with OCD identified their most upsetting obsession and intrusion (non-clinical obsession) experienced in the past 3 months.

Development and validation of the multidimensional version of the fear of self questionnaire: Corrupted, culpable and malformed feared possible selves in obsessive-compulsive and body-dysmorphic symptoms.

In recent years, cognitive-behavioural models of OCD have increasingly recognized the potential role of feared possible selves in the development and maintenance of OCD, while simultaneously re-examining factors that have historically been linked to self-perceptions in OCD. The current article describes the development and validation of a multidimensional version of the Fear of Self Questionnaire (FSQ-EV) in a non-clinical (N = 626) and clinical OCD sample (N = 79). Principal component analyses in the non-clinical sample revealed three conceptually and factorially distinct components revolving around a feared corrupted possible self, a feared culpable possible self and a feared malformed possible self.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on specific symptom dimensions and severity in OCD: A comparison before and during COVID-19 in the context of stress responses.

The present study aimed to compare a group of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; N = 270) before and during COVID-19 on specific obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptom dimensions and symptom severity. In addition, the study aimed to evaluate the associations of COVID-19-related stress responses with change in OC symptom dimensions and severity of symptoms as the result of the pandemic. Results showed that patients with OCD had higher scores on all OC symptom dimensions and symptom severity during the pandemic as compared to their scores from before the pandemic.

"Shame on you": The impact of shame in body-focused repetitive behaviors and binge eating.

Body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs), such as hair-pulling, skin-picking, and nail-biting, have been associated with difficulties in emotion regulation. Studies have suggested that aversive emotions are important triggers for impulsive behaviors such as BFRBs and binge eating. In particular, shame has been hypothesized to be a key emotion before and after these behaviors, but no experimental studies yet have investigated its impact on BFRBs.

Reality check: An experimental manipulation of inferential confusion in eating disorders.

Background And Objectives: Inferential confusion (IC) entails confusing an imagined possibility with a sensory-based possibility, and acting upon the imagined possibility as if it was real. Although IC was formulated in the context of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), this reasoning bias has shown to be relevant to other obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, such as eating disorders (EDs). The goal of this study was to induce IC experimentally in individuals with EDs relative to healthy controls (HC).

COVID-19, obsessive-compulsive disorder and invisible life forms that threaten the self.

This communication explores unique characteristics of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in the context of the current coronavirus pandemic. When do irrational fears of contamination as seen in OCD start to diverge from rational fears and behaviors? The current paper argues that the personal meaning attributed to viruses and germs, including their personification as entities that possess human-like characteristics, allows them to threaten and violate an individual's identity. Specifically, it suggests that fears of contamination become obsessional when the threat of viruses and germs becomes personal, not solely in terms of its objective outcomes, but in how these life forms are able to threaten the self as the result of a fear of corruption characterizing those with OCD.

Lateralized readiness potentials and sensorimotor activity in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients are known to have various functional abnormalities in prefrontal and motor areas. Given the presence of compulsions in many OCD patients, impaired response preparation processes could be a core feature of OCD. Yet, these processes remain understudied from a neurophysiological standpoint.

Spanish version of the Inferential Confusion Questionnaire-Expanded Version: Further support for the role of inferential confusion in obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

The purposes of this research were (1) to analyse the psychometric properties of the Inferential Confusion Questionnaire-Expanded Version (ICQ-EV) in a Spanish population; (2) to explore the role of inferential confusion in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); and (3) to compare the inferential confusion construct in nonclinical and clinical samples. A sample of 342 nonclinical participants and 66 patients with OCD completed the ICQ-EV Spanish adaptation as well as a set of questionnaires. Results confirmed a good fit of the ICQ-EV Spanish version to the original unifactorial structure and excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability.

Inverse reasoning processes in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Replication in a clinical sample.

The inference-based approach (IBA) is one cognitive model that aims to explain the aetiology and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). IBA theory suggests that certain reasoning processes lead an individual with OCD to confuse imagined possibilities with actual probabilities, a process termed inferential confusion. One such reasoning process is inverse reasoning, where hypothetical causes form the basis of conclusions about reality.

Doubt and fear of self in bulimia nervosa.

Objective: Several overlapping cognitive processes have been identified in eating disorders (EDs) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Drawing from the OCD literature, the present study examined whether bulimia nervosa (BN) is associated with a maladaptive inductive reasoning style characterized by the over-investment in possibility-based (as opposed to reality-based) information.

Method: Women with BN (n = 25) and healthy controls (HC; n = 24) completed the Inference Processes Task (IPT), an ecological inductive reasoning task previously validated in OCD samples.

The role of feared possible selves in obsessive-compulsive and related disorders: A comparative analysis of a core cognitive self-construct in clinical samples.

Increasingly, cognitive-behavioural models have been considering the role of beliefs about the self in the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), including sensitive domains of self-concept and feared self-perceptions. This has led to the development of the Fear of Self Questionnaire (FSQ; Aardema et al., ), which has shown strong internal consistency, divergent and convergent validity, and found to be a major predictor of unwanted thoughts and impulses (i.

Augmentation of Psychotherapy through Alternative Preconscious Priming: A Case Series Exploring Effects on Residual Symptoms.

The current paper describes a case series using a new strategy for facilitating change based on Augmentation of Psychotherapy through Alternative Preconscious Priming (APAP) (1) in the treatment of eight treatment-resistant patients suffering from social phobia or generalized anxiety disorder. The patients had previously only shown a partial response to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) despite good treatment adherence. The patients completed APAP using a computerized program, which consisted of three steps during which alternative, more functional thoughts and beliefs relevant to the idiosyncratic difficulties experienced by the patients were formulated.

The Inference-Based Approach (IBA) to the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: An Open Trial Across Symptom Subtypes and Treatment-Resistant Cases.

Unlabelled: The current open trial evaluated an inference-based approach (IBA) to the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) across symptom subtypes and treatment-resistant cases. Following formal diagnosis through semi-structured interview by an independent evaluator, a total of 125 OCD participants across five major symptom subtypes entered a program of 24 sessions of treatment based on the IBA. An additional group of 22 participants acted as a natural wait-list control group.