Talking Back to OCD: The Program That Helps Kids and Teens Say "No Way" -- and Parents Say "Way to Go"

My mom read this book when I was younger to help better understand me and my OCD medical diagnosis. This was recommended to her by my psychologist. It helped her out so much during my years of therapy. I recently bought a copy for my friend who has an autistic son and so far she has said it has been a huge help. I would recommend it to anyone with OCD or a loved one who has OCD or OCD compulsions from another medical diagnosis.

This book was recommended to us after a family member was diagnosed with OCD, and I’m so glad we bought it. It has good and concrete ideas about how to recognize and manage symptoms of OCD. Luckily for us, our therapist also uses this as a tool which puts us all on the same page when it comes to helping manage OCD.

I'm a therapist, and purchased this to use with a teenage client struggling with OCD. It's helpful to use this in conjunction with March's "OCD in Children and Adolescents: A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Manual," which is geared towad professionals and presents a framework for treatment. "Talking Back to OCD" indicates that it can be used outside of the therapeutic context; however, I found it helpful to use in treatment. The book's format covers education about OCD, how to externalize OCD (seeing OCD, not the child, as the problem) and then step by step ways to strengthen coping skills and prepare the child for exposure and response prevention tasks. Teenage clients like the concept of "talking back" to OCD and identifying the ways in which OCD has tried to "trick" them. The approach of this book allows parents and children (along with therapists) to "team up" against OCD. I've seen this process of externalizing the problem bring much relief to clients who have personalized their OCD symptoms and believe there is something "wrong" with them. The chapters for parents are helpful in bringing caregivers onto the treatment team; I discovered that teens also benefit from reading the parent chapters.The tools in the book help clients to become more aware of their own thought processes when compulsive behavior kicks in, so that they can begin to modify and challenge "OCD thoughts." The use of homework assignments is empowering for clients. My one complaint with the book is that I would have liked to see much more information on coping with obsessions-- repetitive bad thoughts. There was terrific, detailed information on reducing compulsive behavior such as hand washing, but I found myself wanting more on how to address the obsessive bad thoughts that often accompany OCD. I would highly recommend this book for families wanting to know more about helping their child with OCD, as well as for therapists seeking new tools to use with young clients.

This book is very helpful for explaining OCD to parents and giving great suggestions on how to support kids that have OCD. The steps presented are a bit rigid, and in practice do not need to be so. But the overall guide to work on, with the steps as goals are evidence based practice and the author breaks it down in a way that is easy to understand. I am a therapist and will add to my collection of tools for practice.

This was an excellent resource, although the reading level is geared towards older teens and adults. Young teens will definitely need guidance while reading it.Here is what I liked about it:1. It very practically and accurately explained what it was like to live with OCD. The explanations and examples will help readers understand the condition.2. OCD is portrayed in a manner that does NOT make you feel as though you are strange or weird.3. The book explained how there are times when stressors can exacerbate OCD, and times when it is easier to deal with it. It also shows how to identify what is OCD and what isn't.4. If you have ever felt as though you are controlled by OCD, this book shows you how to take back the power it has had over your life. Obviously OCD doesn't go away, but there are many practical solutions offered that help you develop coping skills.

We bought this book for our 7 year old daughter who suffers from intrusive thoughts (OCD) and anxiety about being late, among other things. This is a great book for OCD and anxiety. It uses behavioral therapy that really works and helps kids/parents feel empowered to fight OCD thoughts/controls. It also helps your child (adults too) feel like they are not alone and you can deal with even the scariest thoughts or repeative behavior. The exercises are easy to follow and clear. It includes suggestions and support for family members. It is good for any age. Fighting anxiety/OCD is time consuming, but worth every effort.

Although this book contains helpful advice, it wasn't strategic for us. My daughter was resistant about trying the methods, so, unfortunately, it didn't work for us

Our son started showing signs of OCD when he was 4 years old. OCD runs in the family. He had bouts with different compultions (washing, organizing) But when he was ten years old we were under a particularly stressful time of moving he had a very bad outbreak. (mainly obsessive thoughts like going blind and spiritual fears) We went to a psychologist and with his support and this book our son is doing extremely well. Our psychologist did not have experience with OCD but a visiting psychologist did have experience with kids with OCD and diagnosed him with OCD. We mainly did the therapy at home for a few months and just used the psychologist as a check-in to make sure we were on the right track. Through the therapy he has been given skills to combat OCD in his life. I highly reccommend this book.