Disgust and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a serious and debilitating psychiatric condition. It has historically been associated with anxiety. Recent analyses have identified a specific role for disgust as well. A clinical vignette underscores the relevant understanding of disgust in the context of OCD. While contemporary evidence-based treatment emphasizes exposure with response prevention (ERP) for OCD, there are special considerations for addressing symptoms that are a result of disgust reactions. The review provides greater insight into the recent research on disgust and how it differs from the emotion of fear. In addition to highlighting the complexity of treatment for contamination fears, evidence-based assessment and practice considerations are discussed, as well as the ethical challenges of exposure and response prevention (ERP). Future research targeting disgust symptomatology is warranted.