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Obsessive compulsive disorder: The facts
Journal of Anxiety Disonlers, Vol. 8. No. 1. p. 105,19!34 Cowrieht 8 1994 Elsetier Science Ltd R&Gin the USA. All rights reserved 0887-618594 $6.00 + .OO
BOOKREVIEW De Silva, P., & Rachman, S. Obsessive compulsive disorder: New York: Oxford University Press (1992). 121 pp., $18.95.
The facts.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: The Facts purports to be a book intended to provide OCD sufferers, their families, and the general reader with basic information concerning obsessive compulsive disorder. It succeeds superbly in achieving this purpose. Well-organized, thorough, clear, and easily understood, it is (in this reviewer’s opinion) the best book ever written about OCD for the lay reading public. Unlike the very popular The boy who couldn’t stop washing by Dr. Judith Rapoport, this book avoids sensationalizing the disorder, and presents a useful, objective overview of OCD. Although Dr. Rapoport’s book fulfilled an admirable purpose by popularizing OCD, bringing the disorder into public awareness, it often lacked the professional depth and practical advice that is prevalent in this new text. However, this reviewer was surprised to find that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: The Facts is also fairly scholarly in its own right. It would serve well as a primer or introductory text in OCD for serious students of psychology, counseling, social work, and other health care professions. Moreover, although it lacks the in-depth research references a serious scholar would require, it does provide some excellent case examples and a good introduction to behavioral therapeutic techniques for treating OCD. One criticism is the limited attention the authors give to the efficacy of psychopharmacological therapy. Although they acknowledge that medication has a role in the treatment of OCD, the authors seem to downplay somewhat the consensus among researchers and clinicians in this field that medication combined with behavior therapy is generally considered the most efficacious treatment for OCD. Nova University
Michael Gallo, MS., M.A.
REFERENCE Rapopott,
J. (1989).
The
Boy Who Couldn f Sfop Washing. New York:
105
Dutton.
BOOKREVIEW De Silva, P., & Rachman, S. Obsessive compulsive disorder: New York: Oxford University Press (1992). 121 pp., $18.95.
The facts.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: The Facts purports to be a book intended to provide OCD sufferers, their families, and the general reader with basic information concerning obsessive compulsive disorder. It succeeds superbly in achieving this purpose. Well-organized, thorough, clear, and easily understood, it is (in this reviewer’s opinion) the best book ever written about OCD for the lay reading public. Unlike the very popular The boy who couldn’t stop washing by Dr. Judith Rapoport, this book avoids sensationalizing the disorder, and presents a useful, objective overview of OCD. Although Dr. Rapoport’s book fulfilled an admirable purpose by popularizing OCD, bringing the disorder into public awareness, it often lacked the professional depth and practical advice that is prevalent in this new text. However, this reviewer was surprised to find that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: The Facts is also fairly scholarly in its own right. It would serve well as a primer or introductory text in OCD for serious students of psychology, counseling, social work, and other health care professions. Moreover, although it lacks the in-depth research references a serious scholar would require, it does provide some excellent case examples and a good introduction to behavioral therapeutic techniques for treating OCD. One criticism is the limited attention the authors give to the efficacy of psychopharmacological therapy. Although they acknowledge that medication has a role in the treatment of OCD, the authors seem to downplay somewhat the consensus among researchers and clinicians in this field that medication combined with behavior therapy is generally considered the most efficacious treatment for OCD. Nova University
Michael Gallo, MS., M.A.
REFERENCE Rapopott,
J. (1989).
The
Boy Who Couldn f Sfop Washing. New York:
105
Dutton.