This cognitive-behavioral program for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has as its foundation the use of ritual prevention, and prolonged actual and imaginal exposure exercises. Therapists will learn the best methods for assessing OCD and formulating a treatment program tailored to their client's particular OCD symptoms. Sample lists of exposure items are provided for fear of contamination, fear of supernatural harm, and fear of causing harm to others by acts of negligence.Sample exposure plans are also provided for washers, checkers, and hoarders. A Monitoring Forms Package is available so the client can increase self-awareness of ritualistic behavior and the circumstances that evoke that behavior.The Therapist Guide is designed to help mental health professionals assess and treat OCD. It is divided into threeo Methods of assessing OCDo Efficacy of available treatments and how to arrive at treatment recommendationso A guide to cognitive-behavioral treatment by exposure and ritual preventionAdditional chapters provide information on relapse prevention, dealing with obstacles to progress, and modifications for children and clients with mental retardation.The Client Workbook provides clients with easy to understand information regarding the symptoms and treatment options for OCD. In addition, clients are educated to recognize their symptomatic behaviors and the circumstances that trigger those behaviors. Clients are given the information necessary to personalize their treatment programs. Extensive case-vignettes and sample exposure schedules are also provided.
Edna B. Foa, PhD, is a Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. The treatment program she has developed for PTSD sufferers has received the highest evidence for its efficacy and has been widely disseminated in the US and around the world.