Customer Reviews

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: New Help for the Family

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Herb Gravitz' book on OCD, New Help for the Family is a wonderful contribution to the mental health field. His writing and perspective lend compassion, clarity and understanding for all people involved in this anxiety disorder. Diagnosed, 6 months after starting a serious relationship, my Significant Other and I were able to glean new understanding and boundary setting with Dr. Gravitz help. I would like to see more medical professionals encouraging family members to read this book and get the assistance and recovery they need. I would recommend this book highly (and do!) to anyone who loves someone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

The first time I read Obsessive Compulsive Disorder New Help for the Family, I could not believe that a total stranger knew so much about our family experience with OCD. For three years my focus had been on getting rid of my daughter's OCD and it wasn't working. In a loving and non-threatening way, Dr. Gravitz's book helped me to see that OCD does not have to ruin lives but can actually strengthen them. I feel that everything I need to know to achieve this strength is discussed in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder New Help for the Family. My initial reading brought a feeling of relief that someone actually understood what was happening and how I felt. Carefully and privately I was able to examine my role in my daughter's illness. The good news was I finally had something to work on that I had some degree of control over which was myself. In fact, I still do and this will be an ongoing process for me. I am grateful to have Dr. Gravitz's book to refer to on a regular basis. I believe that benefits will continue to come from practice, growth and changing old patterns that aren't working into new patterns of strength.

At last a book for those who live with the torments of OCD! No longer is it necessary for families to surrender to OCD, to give up their freedom. This book gives hope to the family members and offers clear, concise ways to promote healing while living with OCD.

New Hope for the Families should be read by all professionals to reminded them that OCD is a family illness; professional must treat the entire family, not just the individual with the OCD. Herb identifies the pain and frustration of the family as they deal with the uncomfortable issues of this disorder and offers great suggestions to help families move beyond the influence of OCD.

This book is a must read for every family living under the web of OCD. Order your copy now.

As the faciliator of many support groups and an advocate for those with OCD, I often find suffers asking me "what can I provide my family to read to better understand my illness " or "how can I tell my loved ones about my OCD". I never had an answer for them prior to OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER: New Guide For The Family. Now I refer this book to all those that contact me with these issues.

Dr Gravitz provides a very comforting way of coping with OCD as an illness and describes the whole family unit in the healing process. It is an easy book to read and provides many practical methods to cope with OCD, or any chronic illness for that matter. It is helpful for the sufferer and also for those who care for the afflicted.

Dr. Gravitz' positive attitude is refreshing. He does not "pound" his beliefs, but acts as a caring professional that guides you through the journey of becoming better able to live with OCD.

I cannot say how highly I recommend this book to anyone who has OCD, has a loved one with OCD or who deals with any chronic illness on a day to day basis. Professionals and clinicians can learn much from its contents as well. It truly is a MUST READ. PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE. GET YOUR COPY TODAY.

Following up on his previous successes with nationallly well-regarded books on children of alcoholics and survivors of trauma, my California psychologist colleague has written a meaningful and from the heart book on a pervasive disorder and its impact on family and dear ones. He writes very well and knowledgeably. I have recommended it to my patients, and they have found it most helpful.

In the five years that I have been involved in support groups for the partners of people with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), I have read maybe 150 books on mental health.

Many of these books explain clearly and sometimes even eloquently the manifestations and treatment issues related to AD/HD, OCD, bi-polar disorder, anxiety, depression and the host of comorbidities that are often traveling companions. If your loved one has any or several of these disorders, part of taking care of yourself and your family is learning the facts so you can "come out of the fog" -- the confusion and disorientation that living with a person's mental disorder can often bring. Some touch on how the brain conditions affect loved ones.

This book, however, is the only one that deeply, directly and specifically addresses the needs of the person whose loved one has a brain disorder. That it does so not with pithy platitudes and tales of woe but with profoundly wise, compassionate, and practical concepts strikes me as pretty rare. Not to mention life-changing.

The writing is clear and engaging, but I especially appreciate the way the book is organized. By the time people find a book like this, they often need all the cognitive clarity they can get, and this book provides it. No ponderous narratives to wade through here. Instead, each chapter is organized by questions the reader might have and that Gravitz inspires, starting at the simplest concepts and progressing to the more complex. For example:

--How will you know if your loved one has OCD and if it is severe enough to warrant professional attention?
--What causes OCD? Is it a biological diseases? Is it genetic? Is it just in the person's mind?
--What is home like in a familiy under the influence of OCD?
--What needs to occur in order for the family to recover?
--What strategies can you use to help yourself?
--What can you do when your partner refuses treatment?
--How will you know if you are enabling?

If you're looking for "tips and strategies" to deal with your family member's disorder, you'll find some of that here. But for people who are ready to grapple with the core issues and move towards deeper healing, this book delivers like none other I've seen. It is an inspiration.

Gina Pera

Garvitz writes from both the heart and the head. If you care for OCD and its impact on the family, you must (underline that) read this book.

There are not a lot of really good quality books out there when it comes to addressing the issue of a family having to deal with another family member who has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This book provides practical, solid information about how to deal with the ill family member but still maintain healthy boundaries and not play into their disorder.

This book is direct and straight forward,similar to a manual: in question and answer format, effectively using numbered lists in stating issues in simple language for non-professionals. Herb has a respectful view of people with OCD and family members with clear ideas on ways to treat the family disorder. By Ross Winetsky and Lorre Mendelson