At RDC-IPITIA Center in Barcelona, we treat OCD from a deep and transformative perspective that focuses on awakening two fundamental forces of psychic life: the aggressive drive and the sexual drive. Far from understanding these concepts in a literal or reductionist sense, we conceive them as vital energies necessary for the development of a solid, free, and creative personality.
Our clinical experience has shown us that OCD is not sustained solely by the presence of intrusive thoughts or compulsive rituals, but by an internal structure dominated by fear, guilt, and a rigid and punitive superego. This superego especially fears the emergence of the drives, as it experiences them as dangerous, uncontrollable, or morally unacceptable. For this reason, in our center we approach OCD by helping the person reconcile with these inner forces and develop them in a healthy and integrated way.
OCD and the Dominance of the Rigid Superego
In many cases of OCD, we find a strong tendency toward extreme self-demand, paralyzing perfectionism, and an exaggerated sense of responsibility. The person with OCD often feels excessively guilty about thoughts, desires, or impulses that they interpret as unacceptable. A vicious cycle then emerges: the more they attempt to control, repress, or neutralize these impulses, the stronger the obsessive thoughts become and the more consolidated the compulsions grow.
OCD thus becomes a defensive strategy against the fear of harming, offending, making mistakes, or losing control. Yet at its core, what is often repressed is not real malice, but the vital energy of the aggressive drive and the sexual drive, experienced as dangerous by an inflexible superego.
Therefore, in our therapeutic work with OCD we do not intervene only at the level of symptoms, but also explore the internal structure that sustains them. We understand that for OCD to lose strength, the person needs to strengthen their ego and allow themselves to live with greater authenticity.
The Aggressive Drive: Assertiveness, Decision, and the Capacity to Confront
When we speak of the aggressive drive, we are not referring to destructive violence, but to the capacity to assert oneself in the world. The aggressive drive is the energy that allows us to say “no,” defend a boundary, make decisions, pursue goals, and tolerate that others may feel upset or disagree.
Many people with OCD have great difficulty confronting others, expressing opinions that might offend, or sustaining conflict. They prefer to give in, remain silent, or adapt rather than risk generating discomfort in someone else. This inhibition reinforces the dominance of the superego and feeds the fear and guilt that sustain OCD.
At RDC-IPITIA Center, we work on awakening the aggressive drive through the development of:
- Assertiveness.
- Decision-making capacity.
- Overcoming the fear of expressing one’s own opinion.
- Determination in pursuing goals.
- Tolerance of conflict.
- Healthy confrontation skills.
This work takes place both within the psychotherapeutic setting and through experiential proposals. Intense physical activities can be a privileged pathway: contact sports, climbing, surfing, or other practices involving symbolic “struggle” allow individuals to experience their own drive, bodily strength, and determination. The body learns to tolerate tension, move forward despite fear, and occupy space. All of this has a direct effect on reducing OCD symptomatology, as it weakens submission to the punitive superego.
The Sexual Drive: Sensuality, Creativity, and Eros (Life)
The other major energy we address in the treatment of OCD is the sexual drive, understood as eros — the impulse toward pleasure, creativity, and enjoyment. It is not limited to genital sexuality, but includes sensuality, pleasurable movement, art, the capacity to enjoy one’s own body, and the enjoyment of life itself.
The rigid superego that characterizes many individuals with OCD tends to deeply distrust pleasure. Living spontaneously, enjoying without guilt, surrendering to desire or creativity can generate anxiety. In this way, the person disconnects from their vitality and becomes trapped in control and obsessive rumination.
In our center, we understand that OCD weakens when the person regains their capacity for enjoyment. We foster spaces where individuals can explore:
- Sensuality as connection with the body.
- Pleasure without guilt.
- Artistic creativity.
- Free and expressive movement.
- Libido as life energy.
Art, dance, body expression, or any artistic/creative activity can become channels for transformation. When a person begins to experience that pleasure does not destroy, that desire is not dangerous, and that life can be enjoyed, the superego loses power. OCD, which feeds on fear and internal prohibition, begins to loosen its grip.
Counteracting Fear and Guilt
The core of our approach lies in this idea: awakening the drives counteracts the tendency to be governed by fear and guilt. Where OCD imposes doubt, inhibition, and self-punishment, the development of the aggressive drive brings firmness and determination; where OCD imposes rigidity and repression, the sexual drive brings flexibility, creativity, and life.
This is not about eliminating the superego, but about making it more flexible. When a person learns to integrate their capacity for confrontation and their right to pleasure, they no longer need OCD as a defense. The energy that was previously trapped in obsessions and compulsions becomes channeled into projects, relationships, and vital experiences.
A Distinctive Approach in Barcelona
At RDC-IPITIA Center in Barcelona, we treat OCD from this integrative understanding. Our intervention combines a psychodynamic approach with bodily and experiential practices that allow change to be embodied. We do not limit ourselves to reducing symptoms; rather, we seek structural transformation: strengthening the ego, flexibilizing the superego, and allowing the aggressive and sexual drives to find a healthy expression.
Throughout our clinical practice, we have observed that when a person with OCD develops greater assertiveness, loses the fear of confrontation, and recovers enjoyment and creativity, symptoms decrease significantly. OCD ceases to be the center of psychic life and gradually takes on a more secondary role.
We firmly believe that the treatment of OCD cannot be based solely on fighting the symptom. It is necessary to awaken the life that has been encapsulated by fear. When the aggressive drive provides strength and the sexual drive provides pleasure and creativity, the person regains their capacity to choose, to decide, and to live with greater freedom.
This is the core of our work at RDC-IPITIA: transforming fear into vital energy and turning OCD into an opportunity for profound growth.
