When a Family Member Has OCD: Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Skills to Help Families Affected by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Helps a lot

As an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker I was looking for a resource to recommend to the professionals I supervise and the families with whom they work. The text explains in plain language the lived experience of OCD for the sufferer and the struggle of those who want to help. It includes good explanations of treatment options and in particular CBT and ERP. It also emphasises the value of knowledge and self care for those in relationship with someone with OCD. I was particularly happy with the inclusion of academic level referencing and the lists of further online and support resources. This text of course was written pre-Covid-19. I would imagine any future edition will need to include an update related to hand washing compulsions post Covid 19 and the need to differentiate between socially proscribed hand washing for particular social community contexts and when / how we can assess whether treatment is indicated. Overall this resource is a great resource for families and mental health professionals.

Get this ....it's a must read ...my partner has it and I love her and plan not to let it get in the way of us

I have ready many books on OCD, Anxiety, and Panic. Although many of them were informative, this book was the first one that immediately "clicked" for me. This book truly allowed me to understand what our child is going through and what we can do to help. It is even so informative and clear that it was painfully obvious what we were doing wrong. The book is laid out clearly and addresses different obsessive behaviors and clear topics on how to deal with them. This book is a MUST READ if you have someone close to you suffering from OCD. Although the book is written for people who have a family member with OCD, this book was an EXCELLENT BOOK for our OCD child who for the first time, after reading this book, was able to identify her compulsive behavior. I highly recommend this book. It is an easy read and the first book on OCD that has given my family hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I found this book very insightful to understanding this horrible condition that my loved one suffers from severely. This condition makes no sense to those of us who do not suffer from it and it’s hard not to be angry and resentful at the suffering person. Also helpful to know how trying to help often makes it worse. This book does a good job at seeing OCD through their eyes. I recommend this book for anyone who has a family member suffering from OCD. It is not a self help book but is great to know what to do while your family member is going through the CBT therapy.

Super helpful, the right amount of information in a readable format. If you love someone struggling with this challenging disorder this is a good book to read to gain a sense of OCD.

If you have someone in your family with OCD, you need this book. It will make you an ally to your family member instead of an enemy. My only advice is that you read the whole book through and TAKE NOTES to prepare for forming plans with the person with OCD. I read a few chapters and tried a few things I thought would help literally to turn the page to read "NEVER DO THIS or x, y, and z will happen." Bad news for me but good news in knowing that the book was exactly right. As with anything when it comes to OCD, have patience.

I have a sister with terrible OCD, this book helped me understand OCD and how to deal with a family member who suffers from it. No book is a cure all or has all the answers and I believe the author acknowledges this. If you're looking to understand OCD and perhaps come up with a few ways to tackle issues your family member faces this is a great introductory book to help you understand what is going on in their mind and how you can be helpful to them.

I had no idea that I had OCD since my childhood. i have never heard about OCD before and when I read some books I have realised that I have had OCD most of my life. This is the 3rd book I have bought from this Author as he writes in a clear language that can be easily understood.

As I was reading this book on the tube, after a very difficult time recently, my eyes filled with tears as I realised that OCD is really a horrible thing to live with, of which I had no idea. I was totally ignorant of all the different symptoms/types and the writer has a very different approach which made me 'sit up and notice' what I was dealing with. Also, there is help out there for people and I would recommend to anyone who is struggling to understand this illness.

Very interesting and informative for family members.

This is the most useful book or article I have read on OCD .... and I've read quite a few! Thank you so much.

This book has been a great help for me. Seeing OCD as an inner beast or creature that is trying to take over my partner's mind has been a refreshing perspective for me when my wife is suffering, she has found it helpful too. The reminder that "I am not my partner's counsellor or nurse" was much needed for me. I think it is very easy to want to "fix" (aka help) someone with OCD or mental health, and then it is easy to get frustrated when they don't respond well. This book uses a lot of clean OCD examples, which my wife does not like being compared to since that is stereotypical hollywood OCD, vs "Pure OCD." But this book does talk about Pure OCD and comments on how cleaning OCD starts with Pure OCD, because the obsession is in the mind first before being externalized. Highly recommend for family members/friends of OCD sufferers.