Loving Someone with OCD : Help for You and Your Family

People who suffer from mental illness rarely do so alone. Their families and loved ones face their own set of unique challenges—problems that deserve their own resources and sources of support. This is the first book written specifically to the loved ones of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It helps readers examine how OCD affects their lives and offers a straightforward system for building a healthier, more constructive relationship with OCD sufferers.

The book contains basic information about OCD—its definition, cause, and symptoms—and a brief overview of treatments available for the disorder. After these introductory sections, the book focuses on ways readers can foster a healthy relationship with someone with OCD. It includes tips for increasing family involvement, making accommodation for the disorder in daily life, and creating an action plan for change using family contracts. The book also covers relational topics such as parenting and marriage, self-care, and support networking. Throughout, the book illustrates important points with the real-life stories of families living with OCD.

Karen J. Landsman, PhD, is a psychologist specializing in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of children, adults, and families with obsessive-compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders. She is currently in private clinical practice in Westfield and Chatham, NJ. Previously, she specialized at The Anxiety and Agoraphobia Treatment Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park and completed her pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD.

Cherry Pedrick, RN, is a freelance writer with over twenty year's experience as a nurse who is dedicated to helping people make positive changes in their physical, mental and spiritual lives. In 1994 she was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, which began an intensive search for knowledge, effective treatment, and management of OCD. She has coauthored many books for people with obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, including the first edition of The OCD Workbook, The Habit Control Workbook, The BDD Workbook, and Helping Your Child with OCD. She lives in North Las Vegas, NV. You can read many of her articles and learn more about her books at www.cherrypedrick.com.