Dr. Danny Derby is a clinical psychologist and one of the researchers who first described relationship obsessive-compulsive disorder (ROCD). Together with Prof. Guy Doron, he developed the research program behind ROCD.net, and he works on the treatment of OCD and related difficulties as a clinician, supervisor and trainer of therapists.
Identifying and researching ROCD
In 2007, Dr. Derby and Prof. Guy Doron began to formulate the idea that obsessive-compulsive symptoms can center on close relationships: on doubts about whether a relationship is “right”, or a preoccupation with a partner’s perceived flaws. Systematic research began in 2010, and the first papers describing ROCD were published in 2012. This work led to the Relationship OCD Research Unit (ROCD-RU) at the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University (IDC Herzliya).
Their work includes a cognitive behavioral model of ROCD and two widely used questionnaires: the Relationship Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (ROCI) and the Partner Related Obsessive Compulsive Symptom Inventory (PROCSI), now available in many languages. You can find the research on our ROCD papers page, and the questionnaires and their translations on the ROCD measures and translations pages.
Clinical work in OCD and ROCD
Dr. Derby is the founder and director of Cognetica, the Israeli Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Tel Aviv, which offers evidence-based treatment for OCD, ROCD and related conditions, as well as professional training for therapists. His clinical focus is on helping people change how they relate to obsessional doubt, rather than trying to settle the doubt itself.
For English-speaking readers, Dr. Derby also writes ROCD self-help material and offers private therapy at dr-derby.com.
Training and background
- Clinical psychologist.
- Trained in Prolonged Exposure (PE) at the University of Pennsylvania with Prof. Edna Foa and Elizabeth Hembree, and in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) with Prof. Patricia Resick, with whom he co-authored the Hebrew book “New Horizons in the Treatment of PTSD”.
- Worked as a clinician, supervisor, lecturer and researcher at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Traumatic Stress at Hadassah University Hospital.
Where to start
If you are wondering whether your experience fits ROCD, see Do I have relationship OCD?. If your symptoms are affecting your daily life, consider speaking with a professional trained in CBT for OCD.