OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER A GUIDE FOR PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES

Table of Contents

1. OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER A GUIDE FOR PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES
2. WHAT IS OCD?
   1. Examples of OCD
   2. What happens In OCD?
   3. How does someone develop OCD
   4. Why do the problems continue and get worse?
   5. Making sense of OCD
3. THE TREATMENT OF OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER
   1. Treatment
   2. Assessing the problems
   3. What happens In treatment
   4. Some Important points about treatment
   5. How can you get the best out of treatment?
4. ADVICE FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
   1. Advice
   2. How can you maintain improvement?

Assessing the problems

Before treatment begins, your therapist will need to carry out a thorough assessment of your individual problems. Treatment usually follows certain broad guidelines, but it can only be effective if it is tailored for you as an individual. Part of the assessment will consist of interviews in the clinic but usually an important part depends on you. The therapist needs to have a detailed picture of your problems before they can be tackled. Often the best way to get this is for you to keep various kinds of records in your daily life outside the clinic. These 'on-the-spot' records are much more useful than trying to remember everything and tell the therapist in the clinic. Because the rituals and avoidance become such strong habits, it can be hard to notice all the obsessional behaviour you perform. It may be useful to ask yourself some questions:

1. What would I not be doing if I didn't have these problems?
2. This will tell you something about your neutralising.
3. What would I be doing if I didn't have these problems?
4. This will tell you about the things you avoid.