Perfectionism

What Is Perfectionism?

Disorders That Are Associated with Perfectionism, or in Which Perfectionism Is Elevated

Perfectionism is thought to contribute to be associated with or elevated in:

• obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• social anxiety disorder
• panic disorder
• generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)
• chronic fatigue syndrome
• eating disorders
• depression
• bipolar disorder
• suicidal ideation and behavior

Helpful Questions for Assessing Perfectionism

Some helpful questions for assessing perfectionism:

• Have you ever kept trying to meet your standards, even if this has meant that you have missed out on things?
• What sorts of situations trigger feelings of distress when your standards are not met?
• What do you think of people who do just enough to get by?
• Do you ever feel a failure as a person because you haven’t met your goals?
• Have you ever been told that your standards are too high?
• In what ways do you compare yourself to others? How do you typically feel?
• What kinds of domains must you be perfect in?
• Are there any ways that perfectionism has been rewarded or praised in your life?

Treatment Approaches That Target Perfectionism

Shafran, Egan, and Wade (2010) published a cognitive behavioral model of perfectionism in which an individual’s self-worth is overly dependent on striving and achievement. They propose that this is maintained by both (1) revision of standards as insufficiently demanding when they are met, and (2) counterproductive behaviors and self-criticism when they are not met. There have been a number of small published studies that have examined the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of perfectionism, which show promisingly large effect sizes (e.g., Riley, Lee, Cooper, Fairburn, & Shafran, 2007; Steele & Wade, 2008).

References

• Burns, D. D. (1980). The perfectionist script for self-defeat. Psychology Today, November, 34–52.
• Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14(5), 449–468.
• Riley, C., Lee, M., Cooper, Z., Fairburn, C. G., & Shafran, R. (2007). A randomised controlled trial of cognitive-behaviour therapy for clinical perfectionism: A preliminary study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(9), 2221–2231.
• Shafran, R., Cooper, Z., & Fairburn, C. G. (2002). Clinical perfectionism: A cognitive–behavioural analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40(7), 773-791.
• Shafran, R., Coughtrey, A., & Kothari, R. (2016). New frontiers in the treatment of perfectionism. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 9(2), 156-170.
• Shafran, R., Egan, S., & Wade, T. (2018). Overcoming perfectionism: A self-help guide using scientifically supported cognitive behaviouraltechniques(2nd ed.). London: Robinson.
• Steele, A. L., & Wade, T. D. (2008). A randomised trial investigating guided self-help to reduce perfectionism and its impact on bulimia nervosa: A pilot study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(12), 1316–1323.