Mastery Of Obsessive-compulsive Disorder: A Cognitive-behavioral Approach

This program has at its foundation the use of ritual prevention and prolonged actual and imaginable exposure exercises. Therapists will learn the best methods for assessing OCD and formulating a treatment program tailored to their client's particular OCD symptoms. Sample lists of exposure items are provided for fear of contamination, fear of supernatural harm, and fear of causing harm to self and others by acts of negligence.

This Therapist Guide is designed to help psychotherapists in assessing and treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It is divided into three sections. In the first section, a summary of the symptoms of OCD and methods for assessing the disorder are presented. In the second section, the relative efficacy of the available treatments and how to arrive at treatment recommendations for individuals with OCD who seek treatment are discussed. In the third section, a guide to cognitive-behavioral treatment by exposure and ritual prevention is provided. Also in this section, the components of the treatment procedures whose efficacy has been experimentally documents are described and illustrated, as well as those aspects of their practical application that inhabit experimentally uncharted territory of clinical wisdom and artistry.

Edna B. Foa, Ph.D. is a Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Personality, from University of Missouri, Columbia, in 1970. Dr. Foa devoted her academic career to study the psychopathology and treatment of anxiety disorders, primarily obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and social phobia and is currently one of the world leading experts in these areas. Dr. Foa was the chair of the DSM-IV Subcommittee for OCD and Co-Chairs the DSM-IV Subcommittee for PTSD. She has also been the chair for the Treatment Guidelines Task Force of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Disorders. Dr. Foa has published several books and over 250 articles and book chapters and has lectured extensively around the world. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards and honors. Among them are: Distinguished Professor Award under the Fulbright Program for International Exchange of Scholars; Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Psychological Association, Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology; First Annual Outstanding Research Contribution Award presented by the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy; Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Clinical Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association; and Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.