Product Description

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6049 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-27
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 276 pages

Review
"Gives the best hands-on advice I know on how to help your child conquer this illness. Finally, the right book to give my patients!" --Judith L. Rapoport, MD, author of The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing

"An excellent example of how research findings and first-rate clinical applications can be conveyed in an extremely reader-friendly fashion. The book, which provides sage guidance for both parents and youth, is highly informed and well written. Dr. March has succeeded in providing a valuable resource and clinical tool."--Philip C. Kendall, PhD, Department of Psychology, Temple University

"From an internationally recognized expert on childhood OCD, this book is readable, doable, and based on the most up-to-date treatment research. I highly recommend it to parents and children!"--Henrietta L. Leonard, MD, coauthor of Is It "Just a Phase"?

"Dr. March is a world expert on helping young people recover from OCD. In this much-needed book, he shares his wealth of knowledge and experience with parents and children. Full of practical tips and examples for families, the book helps the child take charge while showing parents how to support the recovery process. Dr. March tackles the bewilderment and isolation felt by so many families, highlighting the fact that OCD is nobody's fault and emphasizing that recovery is possible. I am looking forward to using this accessible book with the families I treat."--Isobel Heyman, MBBS, PhD, MRCPsych, Maudsley Hospital, London

"There’s good news about recovery from childhood OCD, and it’s called Talking Back to OCD. Dr. March explains with clarity and compassion what parents deserve to hear: They can make a difference in their children’s lives. A highly respected, innovative clinical researcher, he describes each component of recovery in ways that both parents and children will understand and appreciate."--R. Reid Wilson, PhD, author of Don’t Panic and coauthor of Stop Obsessing!

"As a mother of a son with OCD and President of the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation, I highly recommend this book for parents and their children with mild to moderate OCD. Dr. March provides detailed steps that can empower a young person to battle obsessive-compulsive disorder. The strong personal vignettes will help parents finally begin to understand the obsessions and compulsions that drive their child or teen to perform exhausting rituals."--Joy Kant

"The book is well written, well researched, and simply laid out....Nurses and students will find this book an accessible introduction to the topic. It provides a major boost to our understanding of this condition and the importance of early intervention."--Nursing Standard

"Readable....Encouraging....Worksheets, graphs, and quotes are scattered throughout; an appendix covers how to find a therapist, and additional resources are listed. There are other books on OCD for parents...but this is the only title aimed at both the sufferer and the parents; its emphasis on OCD as an illness motivates the child and parents to isolate OCD from the individual. Highly recommended. (starred review)" --Library Journal "A must for taking on the OCD monster! Great ideas and I really like the way there are specific things in little quote bubbles--that you can say to your child about their disorder and treatment if you can't find the words yourself....Definitely worth purchasing and keeping as another great tool to help your child win the battle against OCD."--Parents of Children with OCD Newsletter

About the Author
John S. March, MD, is Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center. A widely published author of books for professionals, including OCD in Children and Adolescents, his research defines the state of the art for treatment of young people with OCD and other anxiety and mood disorders. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. March is active in the teaching and training of mental health professionals. Recently, he served as one of the principal investigators of a National Institute of Mental Health-funded project that compared ways to help kids and teens beat OCD. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Christine M. Benton has over 25 years of experience as a writer and editor of books on psychology, self-help, consumer health issues, and other topics. She is coauthor, with Russell A. Barkley, PhD, of Your Defiant Child.

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Customer Reviews

Very Frustrating
This book was so frustrating. There were some good ideas here and there, but they were few and far between. As another reviewer mentioned, the program is convoluted and hard to follow. It was often difficult to understand exactly what the point of each step was and what the "homework" entailed. There were useful "summary sheets" for each chapter, but they were hidden in the back of the book. This kind of thing happened a lot--things seemed to be out of order. Several times, I had a question about something I read, and would only find the answer to it in a much later chapter. Other times, something would be mentioned seemingly in passing, only to have it turn out to be of great importance. It seemed to me that this program would be very hard to follow from beginning to end.

Another thing that bothered me was that, while the book is purportedly for kids and teens, most of the content seemed written for very young children. The most annoying thing was the way the authors constantly referred to obsessions as "brain hiccups" (It was not uncommon to find the word "hiccup" four times in one paragraph), but there was also a seemingly endless stream of "kid-friendly" analogies that felt patronizing. "Your 'brainpower techniques' should roll off your tongue as smoothly as your explanations for why your chores aren't done or what happened to that homework that was supposed to be turned in today," reads one irritating passage. Weirdly enough, the same chapter contained sample "task lists" that seemed copied from a program for adults; one sample task for a person with "moral scrupulosity" OCD was described as "looking at porn sites online without praying". I'll admit that, after four chapters of "hiccups" and lame sports metaphors, this was pretty jarring for me.

Finally, as a warning to people who are considering buying this, I should mention that there is an excessive number of testimonials and stories from other kids who have gone through the program. These are obviously intended to inspire camaraderie, but for kids who are triggered by reading about other people's rituals, they can be a disaster. Sure, there are some instances where a concept can't be explained without an example, but I really don't see the need for the book to contain detailed "example lists" of rituals, or a descriptive passage about how one girl had to wash her hands ("one finger at a time, starting with her right thumb"). My daughter became hysterically anxious reading about all these other people's symptoms and was very afraid for a while that she would develop some of them.

Overall, I would obviously not recommend this book. If the basic ideas (which are solid) could be put in a more readable format, it would have been much better. If you're reading this, you were probably hoping for a program that your child could do herself, but between the distracting examples and metaphors and the confusing layout (not to mention the odd reference to porn sites), this isn't it.

Outstanding book!
When we first realized our son was showing signs of OCD, we began to research any information that would somehow help us. We needed material that was practical and would give answers and guidance to enable us to get our son back.
We found this book and began working through the steps with our son. The explainations were clear. The quotes from other kids with OCD were encouraging. The layout was reader friendly. My son gave OCD a nickname as Dr. March suggests in his approach. He hated OCD as much as we all did for stealing so much of his time and causing such frustration. The blame was on "OCD" not my son as a person and this was a huge step forward.
I can hardly believe the progress we saw as we worked through this book. Slowly and steadily my son began to chip away at each obssesion/compulsion. He mapped them out and graphed the progress. It was a difficult task, but this book was like having Dr. March give my son and the whole family personal therapy at every turn.
We had looked at other material on OCD and even tried a therapist, but NOTHING compared to the information and tactics explained in this book. We have our son back! He's free again - free from the OCD! What more can I say?

the best child-centered book for overcoming OCD
My 11-year old son has been in weekly therapy for treatment of OCD for over one year. One-on-one therapy has been very useful and cannot be overlooked. However, reading this book, TALKING BACK TO OCD, together with my son and having him follow it verbatim is what truly helped him BEAT OCD and know that he is in control! My son followed the instructions completely and has been nearly symptom free for over three months. Dr March's book gave my son the confidence to control his brain pathways and know how to "talk back" when OCD rears its ugly head again. I HIGHLY recommend this book over all others (and I have read them all!)