Short case example
A patient delays submitting work for days because anything less than flawless feels humiliating and unsafe.
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Formulation mechanism
A rigid pattern of setting excessively high standards and linking worth, safety, or acceptability to flawless performance.
What matters now
Fit, function, and alternatives
Use sequence, function, patient language, and disconfirming evidence to decide whether this hypothesis adds explanatory value.
Across the formulation
Short case example
A patient delays submitting work for days because anything less than flawless feels humiliating and unsafe.
Formulation language
Perfectionism appears to protect against shame through high control, but it increases self-criticism and avoidance when standards cannot be met.
Treatment implications
Run good-enough behavioural experiments and loosen the link between worth and flawless performance.