Break Free from OCD: Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with CBT [Paperback]

Before I start this review, I should point out for reasons of clarity that I am the Chief Executive of the national charity OCD-UK, but more than that, I am someone with OCD myself. So when reading the book, I read it from a personal perspective, as someone with OCD.

The press release for the book describes this as a practical guide written by three leading Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) experts which enables you to make sense of your symptoms, and gives a clear plan to help you conquer OCD. The book does not fail to offer just that!

If you believe that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is primarily a psychological illness and that Cognitive Behavioural Treatment (CBT) holds the key to restoring good health then this is the book for you.

Unlike most other OCD books, this book spends a significant amount of time discussing the cognitive aspect of CBT, and helping the reader to understand the mechanisms which drive our obsessive thinking. By doing this, the behavioural exercises which are required to help us overcome this insidious illness make all the more sense, that is what marks this book out from others.

Throughout the book the authors write in a gentle, kind, supportive and most importantly, a positive manner, which like any good therapist helps us relax and feel at ease with the authors and what they write.

It's written in such an easy to understand style, that is neither too simplistic nor too scientific, which means that this book will be helpful for anyone affected by OCD, from late teens, through to older people, it is written in a style that will benefit people of all ages.

I would also go as far as suggesting that every therapist involved in treating people with OCD must read this book, because if the therapists treating us with OCD understand the principles written in this book, then ultimately, we as sufferers, will benefit from their increased understanding of the illness.
The books back cover promotion correctly says that whether your condition is mild or severe, this definitive resource will help you reclaim your life and keep OCD away for good. I certainly would agree with that, it's one of the best OCD self-help guides focusing on CBT I have read for many years.

Perhaps one criticism is that it does not really offer any extended advice for those whose OCD is severe and entrenched, when OCD is so severe it is hard to see the wood for the trees, where the power of the OCD becomes all-consuming and taking that first step seems impossible. In such circumstances self-help materials like this book will perhaps not be enough to break the shackles of OCD anyway and professional help and guidance will be needed, but, this book still remains a must read because it contains the core principles which ultimately will help them unlock the door to a life free of OCD. It also contains lots of helpful and practical information to help people access professional support, both through the NHS and privately.

Throughout the book it uses four primary case studies to help illustrate the theories being discussed, those are:
* Checking
* Contamination
* Rumination (Pure-O)
* Religious Blasphemous OCD (scrupulosity)

Each case study will demonstrate that the cognitive principles in challenging our OCD thought processes are primarily the same, regardless of the form of OCD, so this book really is suitable for anyone, with any form of OCD. This also illustrates that importance of the cognitive aspect of treating OCD, which is often overlooked for the behavioural part (ERP).

The book does not just confine itself to those four categories of OCD, it also discusses those who think they may have compulsions but no obsessions, and vice-versa, those with obsessions but not compulsions. It also offers informative information for Family, friends and carers (FFC), including practical advice for FFC to help you approach the subject of OCD with a sufferer that will not accept they have OCD.

The book also contains helpful worksheets which are designed to get you thinking more closely about how your OCD impacts on your life, and from my own experience this is actually a fantastic thought provoking exercise to get you understanding your own OCD in ways you had not previously realised, It can be an emotional exercise, but incredibly valuable non-the-less.

Similarly the goal setting exercise to set short term, medium term and long term goals is a positive exercise which is equally invaluable during therapy, and allows you to guide yourself during the therapeutic process.

To summarise, I would highly recommend this book to anyone showing mild symptoms through to those struggling and suffering with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, including family members. This book allows you to make sense of your OCD in ways which allows you to see what's going on, and understand how our obsessional worries that keep us locked in a life of OCD can be changed, allowing us to Break free from OCD.

I've purchased quite a few OCD self-help books over the years, as a sufferer I have found them useful, along with professional treatment. I wasn't particularly looking for another OCD book but when I saw that this one has recently been published and that one of the authors is the renowned Prof. Paul Salkovskis I thought it was worth a go. I'm glad I did as I found it to be excellent. The book has a very clear focus on the problem that is at the root of OCD, worrying about thoughts. It describes this in detail and then provides practical, effective and easy to understand CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) exercises and advice to tackle the problem.

It is an up-to-date book written in a modern style which I again found useful. It doesn't give a miracle cure for OCD as there isn't one, the book says this itself. However it gives help that can and does work along with an optomistic message that OCD really can be beaten. I've read other OCD books that are written in a different style, focus on particular manifestations of the disease, or present CBT treatment in a slightly different way. I've found all of them helpful in some way but this book stands out as the one I would recommend before any other, ultimately because I think it is the most straightforward and most practical OCD book I've read. If you think you may have OCD, have recently been diagnosed, or like me have previously had treatment for the condition, I would say buy this book. And my best wishes for the future, you can beat this disease.

I have OCD (intrusive thoughts), it manifested in a way that became a problem in February this year, I went straight to a CBT professional and that certainly helped me deal with about 70% of my anxiety because I think we need someone else to actually talk to about this stuff. However, this book is an excellent resource and you can trust what it tells you. Thank you for writing it!