Full Description
One of the most experienced therapists in the world for treatment-resistant obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) explains the disorder, the treatments available, and the skills needed to overcome and outsmart OCD.
This is an eye-opening study of one of the most common psychiatric ailments diagnosed today—obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Written by Leslie J. Shapiro, a renowned therapist at one of the most well known OCD facilities in the world, this reference shares effective treatment strategies and clinical factors for helping therapists, mental health professionals, psychology students, clergy, and others deal with patients coping with this illness. The author offers case examples from her 15 years of residential work with patients, demonstrating how sufferers—even the most treatment resistant—can get control of the condition.
Organized into three sections, this guidebook first reveals how OCD and guilt are intertwined and explores survival instincts, cultural factors, and the nature of thoughts. The second section covers aspects of the obsessive conscience such as scrupulosity, moralosity, and obsessive guilt. The book's conclusion describes effective exposure and response prevention strategies for these symptoms and examines methods of treatment that augment and help maintain recovery. An in-depth discussion on the differences between compulsive and impulsive behaviors—as well as other treatment impediments—is included.
Contents
Foreword by Michael A. Jenike
Acknowledgments
Part I: Hard-wired at Birth
1 Your Brain Has a Mind of Its Own
2 Hypersurvival: Evolutionary Survival Instincts Gone Awry—Too Much of a Necessary Thing?
3 All Walks of Life: Global Prevalence and the Universal Culture of Rituals
4 We AllHave "Bad" Thoughts
5 In Good Company: A Who's Who of Obsessive Conscience
Part II: The Exploited Conscience
6 Scrupulosity: It's Not Religious
7 Moralosity: Nonreligious and Moral Perfectionistic OCD
8 Obsessive Guilt
Part III: "You Want Me to DoWhat?"
9 Taking Control Where You Can and Must
10 Helpful Treatment Augmentations
Part IV: Other Guiding Considerations
11 It's Impulsive, Not Compulsive
12 A Word about Countertransference
Appendix A: Glossary
Appendix B: Types of Guilt Found in Western Literature
Appendix C: Harder Personal Feelings Questionnaire
Appendix D: Rate Your OCD
Appendix E: Pennsylvania Inventory of Scrupulosity
Appendix F: The Loyola Religious Obsession and Compulsion Checklist
Appendix G: Family Accommodation Scale for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Index
