Clinical Neuropsychiatry (2016) 13, 6, 85-87 Obsessive-cOmpulsive disOrder: The sTrengTh Of psychOlOgical mOdels Of menTal illness barbara barcaccia and francesco mancini

From the first compelling psychoanalytic formulation at the beginning of last century by Sigmund Freud, to the latest cognitive-behavioural models, psychology has been at the forefront of the understanding of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Psychological accounts of the disorder have been proven to be sound and accurate, explaining many facets of OCD, and having important implications for treatment. Psychology has a lot to offer to the understanding and treatment of this disabling mental illness. This is not only visible in the various contributions to this special issue, and in the many other studies on the psychological features of OCD, but also in the numerous meta-analyses evidencing how cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is the first-line treatment both for adults and children/adolescents. The European Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapy’s (EABCT) Special Interest Group (SIG) on OCD fosters research on the psychological mechanisms implied in obsessive-compulsive disorder, on new effective psychological treatments, and it is committed to the dissemination of this knowledge among the professionals of mental health and the public at large. This collection of papers provides an overview of some of the hot topics that are advancing our knowledge of obsessive-compulsive disorder, thus highlighting the pivotal role of psychology.