Cognitive-Behavioural Treatment of Culturally Bound Obsessional Ruminations: A Case Report

Therapeutic management of obsessional ideas without compulsions is considered to be a rather difficult clinical problem. This report discusses the case of a 24-year old lady with a nine year history of recurrent Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder which most recently presented with a year-long obsessional rumination concerning her superstitious personal responsibility for the accidental death of her cousin. Repeated audio-taped listening to the cognitively restructured content of her obsession resulted both in a rapid elimination of her ruminations and the alleviation of her depressive and general psychopathology.