Compulsions and Obsessions: A Lifespan Perspective.

Greg Rizzolo, PhD.

Freud’s concept of the obsessional neuroses has evolved into today’s obsessive-compulsive disorder with ideas from many fields helping to understand this condition. Dr. Rizzolo contributes to this effort by framing the variety of obsessive presentations as “a disorder of volition, an exaggerated sense of willpower not tied to any one developmental phase or bodily zone.” Over three developmental phases, he looks in depth at how the obsessive person internalizes relationships through introjection, identification and repudiation of an anxious/critical parent or unpredictable environment.