Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Overcoming Books): A self-help guide using cognitive behavioural techniques

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Knowledge really is power when it comes to OCD, so for the vast majority reading self-help books will be positive. Even if it does not help them get better, it should give them good grounding and knowledge for when their therapy starts. Just like anyone can call themselves a therapist, anyone can start a support group, so we take great care to only list a support group once we have spoken to the facilitator and assured ourselves of the groups suitability. Some readers will want to learn more about OCD (especially family members) so sometimes books which are more factual about OCD may be helpful. The following books are aimed at health professionals, but are still readable by lay people: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has been clinically proven to reduce the symptoms of OCD significantly for the majority of sufferers and in this book therapists Dr David Veale and Rob Willson provide a self-help approach to overcoming the condition. This accessible guide explains how readers can reduce the distress of intrusive thoughts, face fears and avoided situations, and overcome compulsions. To assist you in achieving some of these steps, you may want to access some self-help resources. There are many ways to educate yourself about OCD, with self-help materials often offering advice on how to apply CBT techniques. Self-help services include:

Books on Prescription is a national scheme where GPs and other health professionals can recommend a self-help book which the patient can borrow from their local library for as long as they need it. The patient can choose from a range of self-help books which have proven value in helping people who suffer from common mental health problems such OCD. The Books on Prescription was already available in Wales, but in 2014 was also launched in England. Some of our users are reluctant to buy products like books because of their actual OCD fears, for example some people feel they cannot receive books through the post. You can however, access many of the books online via Kindle which can be read via a Kindle device, or any smart phone or tablet. Education– The more we understand OCD and how CBT works the better our chances of managing and overcoming itGenerally people don’t recover with self-help alone, one reason for this is that no matter how good the self-help material is, they are only helpful if the reader correctly interprets what they read. Self-help materials can also never replace the support and motivation given by a good therapist. But the more you understand OCD, the more you can make better use of your therapy once it starts. But choose wisely, the internet and social media is full of OCD material which isn’t always helpful or accurate. The same with OCD books, in recent years we have seen a deluge of OCD titles hit the shelves, some are interesting but not always helpful. Self-help books Our full list of recommended reading (all by respected authors or OCD specialists), including the (ISBN): Break Free from OCD – This remains our favoured self-help book because it focuses on the cognitive aspect of CBT, not just the behavioural/exposure aspect that many books focus on. In June this year, the Reading Well for mental health scheme was launched. The new booklist of 37 titles containing information, self-help and memoir with expert partners and offers guidance and support to those living with mental health needs and their carers, including OCD, but also other problems like stress, depression, anxiety, sleep problems and low self-esteem. The following titles available for OCD and BDD are:

This book, written by the same authors as Break free from OCD, is actually aimed at therapists, but remains incredibly informative and if affordable, we encourage people to read it. Please just bear in mind it’s not written as a self-help book.

Books written for health professionals

There are some commercial online therapy courses that a person can follow for help. Like self-help books these are only helpful if the reader correctly interprets the meaning of the information, but can certainly be useful. Most tend to be ERP based rather than CBT based, but they’re still helpful resources. We cannot list the commercial programmes, but we can recommend the following non-commercial online CBT run by an American charity, Peace of Mind Foundation which was setup by OCD sufferer Liz McIngvale.