In episode 558 I chat with Dr Anthony Pinto and Dr Michael Wheaton. Anthony Pinto, Ph.D. is Senior Director of the Northwell Health OCD Center at Zucker Hillside Hospital on Long Island and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Dr. Pinto has published over 100 manuscripts/chapters on OCD/related conditions and has an extensive record of conference presentations, invited lectures, and media appearances. He is the leading clinical and research authority on obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). He co-edited a comprehensive academic book on OCPD (2020) and co-authored a self-help OCPD workbook (2026). He is the lead author of the self-rated Family Accommodation Scale for OCD and the Pathological Obsessive Compulsive Personality Scale, both of which are being used worldwide. He serves on the International OCD Foundation’s Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board and is on the teaching faculty for the IOCDF’s Behavior Therapy Training Institute. Michael Wheaton, Ph.D. is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at Barnard College, where he teaches classes related to clinical psychology and conducts research on OCD and related disorder, including OCPD. Dr. Wheaton earned his PhD in clinical psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill and completed his postdoctoral training in the Center for OCD and Related Disorders at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University Medical Center. His work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, American Psychological Foundation, and International OCD Foundation. He also runs a private practice focused on OCD and related disorders (including OCPD) in New York, NY.
We discuss their therapy backgrounds, what is obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), the diagnostic criteria for it, the overlap with OCD, the comorbidity rate with OCD, their new OCPD workbook, they share plenty of skills for helping people with OCPD, and much more. Hope it helps.
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Find out more about Anthony and Michael:
The Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder Workbook is the first self-help book by experts in OCPD to offer practical and accessible CBT skills for managing the maladaptive behaviors of OCPD. The book is published by New Harbinger and is available in both hard copy and e-book. Here’s the Amazon link: https://link.amazon/B0cWuFTUj
Drs Pinto and Wheaton will be offering a full day course on Friday, January 29, 2027. The virtual CME course will be hosted by McLean Hospital. Details will be posted on the OCD/Anxiety/BFRB Specialists facebook page.
The Northwell Health OCD Center is an outpatient specialty program for OCD and OCPD. The program offers individual and group therapy as well as medication management. Most forms of government and commercial insurance are accepted.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Center – Zucker Hillside Hospital | Northwell Health
Anthony’s first time on the podcast talking about OCPD
Resources:
The website of the OCPD Foundation (www.ocpd.org) continues to be updated with new content for individuals and families affected by OCPD. The site hosts the POPS, a self-report questionnaire for OCPD traits and severity, a message board, as well as helpful links for articles, podcast/media interviews, and other education about OCPD. There’s even a link for a free online support group that meets twice per month. The site also includes tailored content for clinicians, including training resources on treating OCPD.
Dr Pinto is collaborating with a researcher at VCU (Dr Haynos) who was recently funded by NIMH to study decision making in OCPD. Recruitment is underway so please spread the word to your patients. The study is also recruiting for patients with OCD as well as those with anorexia nervosa. A great opportunity to support much needed research in OCPD! The study involves interviews that are done virtually and then a brain scan in Virginia. Compensation provided and travel costs covered. Here is a description of the study.
Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder Decision-Making Study
The REPEAT Lab at Virginia Commonwealth University is currently recruiting adult participants who have symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD; e.g., need for order, control, perfection) and healthy adults without a history of OCPD for a research study. The goal of the study is to understand if decision-making and its underlying brain function differs between individuals in these different groups. Participants in this study complete 3 study visits over the course of the year. The visits will involve questionnaires and interviews about participants’ mental health and health behaviors (e.g., eating habits), height and blind weight measurement, a brief medical screening with vitals, and blood draw (for some participants), and computer tasks completed during an fMRI brain scan. Additionally, on 2 occasions between visits, participants will complete online surveys on their smartphone for 2 weeks. Participants will receive up to $500 for completing this study (plus potential bonuses for task and survey performance). Some aspects of the study can be conducted remotely and reimbursement may be available for some travel costs. For more information, please contact the REPEAT Lab at repeat@vcu.edu, or click here.
Dr Michael Twohig and Dr Clarissa Ong
Resources: https://theocdstories.com/resources
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All the best,
Stuart