Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) share a name, but they are distinct conditions with different presentations. OCD involves intrusive, unwanted thoughts and rituals aimed at easing anxiety. OCPD is a broader personality pattern built around rigidity and control, one the person often does not experience as a problem at all.
A 2025 study of 78 people with OCD, led by Żerdziński and colleagues, found that just over a third also met criteria for OCPD. That group had a harder clinical course. Compared with people who had OCD alone, those with both conditions showed greater symptom severity, longer treatment duration, and reduced insight into their symptoms. Rates of depression, aggression and impulsivity were also higher in this group. The researchers noted that certain symptom patterns, including contamination obsessions and avoidance-based compulsions, appeared more often when OCPD was present.
The practical implication is straightforward. Because OCD and OCPD can occur together and behave differently to either condition alone, treatment aimed only at OCD symptoms may leave the personality-level rigidity and control largely untouched.
If treatment for OCD has helped only up to a point, or if perfectionism and control seem to sit underneath the obsessions and rituals themselves, it may be worth raising OCPD specifically with your psychologist. A proper assessment can help clarify what is actually happening, and what kind of support might help.