Break Free from OCD: Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with CBT

This book should be a must read for every Cognitive Behavioral Therapist in training,and obviously is a must have for ANY OCD sufferer. I thought I would check it out because of one of the authors, Dr. Paul Salkovskis of the UK, is referenced in most OCD books out there and is a pioneer in the treatment of intrusive thoughts and OCD. Thank god I did.Somewhere along the long way, the American style of treating OCD has been completely over run with an almost obsessive focus on habituation and has lost sight of the human condition. To the point that the cognitive facet of cognitive behavioral therapy has been discounted,minimized, and deluded to the extent of it becoming basically just another form of habituation. in other words, on this side of the pond, the "authorities" on OCD will haphazardly point out the cognitive model in treating OCD, but will undermine it at every turn and spout out sayings like "habituation is the only option" The Beckian style of identifying and changing your reactions to hot cognitions, which fuel OCD, takes a back seat, and even worse is discouraged against. This basically ignores how anxiety and the mind work,This book brings you back to the real world and makes it abundantly clear that we as people are completely capable of responding or not responding to any thought that pops into our minds, as we see fit, no matter how compelling or scary the content is. You will learn that is ok to ignore these thoughts, yes I said ignore, no dancing around it. I mention this, because this choice needs to be made clear to sufferers who have been inundated with all kinds of theories at this point, most of which directly contradict themselves when in the heat of battle. And besides, that's how the mind works, you either attend to a thought or you don't, you either make it important or you don't, anything beyond that only brings more undue attention to the faulty process and grants it even higher priority processing status. The authors obviously have a thorough understanding and compassion for all forms of OCD and not just classic washers and checkers. This is without a doubt the best explanation of how OCD manifests itself, how it is maintained. and how it is treated.

Really helpful for understanding OCD. Book motivates you gently yet firmly to change your reactions on thoughts and feelings and to recover.

honestly it helps so much , you feel familiar knowing other people have the problem and you are not the only one , and all the tools the book provided are great

This book does have some good information. But it also has some issues. Unless you don't know anything about OCD, you probably won't find the book worth your time or money. But the biggest problem with this book is that it does not provide any information about ERP, which is the gold standard treatment for OCD. Instead it focuses only on CBT. ERP is form of CBT. But CBT alone will not be an effective treatment for OCD. I know this from experience. Prior to realizing I had OCD, I did years of traditional therapy. Even though I did everything right, I never made any progress. Changing counselors didn't help. I would eventually get frustrated and quit. I believe the authors have good intentions. But there are much better books on OCD out there. I recommend The OCD Travel Guide by Michael Parker, Is Fred in the Refrigerator? By Shala Nicely, and Daring to Challenge your OCD by Dr. Joan Davidson.