The Unwanted Thoughts and Intense Emotions Workbook: CBT and DBT Skills to Break the Cycle of Intrusive Thoughts and Emotional Overwhelm

by Jon Hershfield, Blaise Aguirre

Manage unwanted, intrusive thoughts— and the intense emotions these thoughts can trigger. Do you have obsessive, negative, intrusive thoughts that keep you up at night and miserable during the day? Do these thoughts make you feel sad, angry, anxious, or ashamed? Whether you have a formal diagnosis such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or borderline personality disorder (BPD)— or simply struggle with unwanted thoughts and the emotions they cause—this workbook can help you find the relief you desperately seek. Written by two pioneers in the field of mental health, this workbook combines two powerfully effective treatments to address relentless, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts—as well as the painful and intense emotions these thoughts can trigger. In this evidence-based workbook, you’ll find an innovative blend of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills to manage obsessive, self-blaming, judgmental, and catastrophic thoughts —and find lasting emotional balance. You’ll learn essential CBT skills to help you tolerate distressing thoughts and stay calm when thoughts feel overpowering; as well as DBT skills like distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, emotional regulation, and mindfulness to find reliable relief. If you’re ready to take charge of unwanted thoughts and find lasting emotional balance, the two-pronged approach in this innovative workbook can help.

Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Mental Health, Nonfiction, Audiobook

176 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2023

About the author

Jon Hershfield, MFT, is the director of The Center for OCD and Anxiety at Sheppard Pratt in Towson, MD. He specializes in the mindfulness-based and cognitive behavioral treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Hershfield is coauthor of the books Everyday Mindfulness For OCD and The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD and is the author of When a Family Member Has OCD, Overcoming Harm OCD, and The OCD Workbook for Teens.

Reviews

[Morgan Rondinelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

The book does a great job giving explanations and examples of both ERP and DBT, and then beginning to combine them. This adds an important layer of compassion to ERP, which is sometimes missed by less well trained therapists.

Working with DBT and ERP together is such a great idea, and that was what was most helpful for me in therapy the past few years. Though for me the book was mostly review, I think it will help people who are new to either DBT, ERP, both, or combining the two.

Both Jon and Blaise are experts in the field, not to mention just nice people. I recommend this for anyone wanting to learn more about OCD + big emotions.

[Michelle Massi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I say this every time I read a new work related book, but this book fills a hole that I didn’t even know needed filling. After working with patients with severe ocd for the past 15+ years, and referring many to seek out DBT therapy in conjunction with the work we are doing in sessions, I feel like I finally have a great resource I can offer to them. Jon & Blaise’s workbook offers so many practical skills to use when an individual is struggling with unwanted thoughts and intense emotions. I especially appreciate the mental health plan of action with clear prompts for different situations and the two tables at the end of the book which helps individuals to understand the tools and when to use them. I have already recommended this book to a few patients.

[AngelLeah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this could be a better tool if you read the book instead of listening to the audiobook. It was hard to listen to. The narrating was not good and the content was annoying at time to listen to because it was reading through lists of things. Looking at it on paper would probably be better.
I didn't get anything from this but admittedly, I was only half invested in it because the narrating was annoying me.

[Anmolbir Randhawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jon Hershfield is indeed one of the best OCD therapist, who knows the problem to its core

The book talks about OCD with comorbid BPD, which somehow tries to evade the DSM criteria....

It's talks about how to apply DBT and ERP two of the popular cognitive behavioral therapy in order to deal with this cluster of problem.


Lastly, you are not alone......

[Kayla Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great info if you are new to CBT/DBT. Not really added/ helpful information for a clinician.

[Emery Bosela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not recommend more highly.

[Liv]

Zdecydowanie za długo ją czytałam jak na ilość stron. Obwiniam za to książkę nie siebie 😬🙃

[Tom Lengain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zbiór praktycznych porad, ale momentami niestety banalnych i nieadekwatnych do skali problemów.

[Kayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow.

[Teia Tawzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book helped me prepare to express and educate on coping to grow my skills for others

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had some good things but I did a ton of workbooks at the same time, and this one just wasn't a favorite.