Perfectionism sits at the core of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), and for a long time it's been treated as just a personality quirk rather than something you can actually do something about. A 2015 randomised controlled trial put that assumption to the test.
Forty-two adults with clinically elevated perfectionism — many also dealing with anxiety, depression, or disordered eating — were split into two groups: one received group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) specifically targeting perfectionism, the other went on a waitlist. The results were striking. The therapy group showed significantly bigger drops in perfectionism itself, plus real improvements in depression, social anxiety, and eating disorder symptoms, alongside gains in self-esteem and quality of life. About three-quarters of participants showed a clinically meaningful change by the end of treatment, and these gains were still holding six months later.
This matters because perfectionism often gets dismissed as something to just ‘work on yourself’, when really it's a treatable pattern with a proper evidence base behind targeted therapy. You don't need to wait until perfectionism has taken over every part of your life before it's worth addressing — and you don't need to tackle it alone. A psychologist experienced in CBT for perfectionism can help you build a more flexible relationship with your own standards.