Customer Reviews

Talking Back to OCD: The Program That Helps Kids and Teens Say "No Way" -- and Parents Say "Way to Go"

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

I have watched a child endure OCD for 6 years, trying medication, nutrients and formal cognitive behaviorial therapy with various improvements and exacerbations. With no disrespect to the author, this book is does not give any "new look" to OCD as the Part I is titled.

The author indicates that the child can assume responsibility for the "homework" to enage in CBT. That won't happen from reading this book. The content to kids is buried. Even my 16 year old honor student found it convoluted, repetitive and not engaging. And, he has had formal CBT therapy and tried to use the book as a refresher.

The hype on this book makes it sound "child-centered". That's a lure. It is definitely an adult read. In fact each chapter has extensive sections called "Instructions for Parents."

If you are looking for a book geared to a child or young adult with OCD to help them help themselves, this is not the one.

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?

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!)

I'm a therapist, and purchased this to use with a teenage client struggling with OCD. It's helpful to use this in conjunction with March's "OCD in Children and Adolescents: A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Manual," which is geared towad professionals and presents a framework for treatment. "Talking Back to OCD" indicates that it can be used outside of the therapeutic context; however, I found it helpful to use in treatment. The book's format covers education about OCD, how to externalize OCD (seeing OCD, not the child, as the problem) and then step by step ways to strengthen coping skills and prepare the child for exposure and response prevention tasks. Teenage clients like the concept of "talking back" to OCD and identifying the ways in which OCD has tried to "trick" them. The approach of this book allows parents and children (along with therapists) to "team up" against OCD. I've seen this process of externalizing the problem bring much relief to clients who have personalized their OCD symptoms and believe there is something "wrong" with them. The chapters for parents are helpful in bringing caregivers onto the treatment team; I discovered that teens also benefit from reading the parent chapters.

The tools in the book help clients to become more aware of their own thought processes when compulsive behavior kicks in, so that they can begin to modify and challenge "OCD thoughts." The use of homework assignments is empowering for clients. My one complaint with the book is that I would have liked to see much more information on coping with obsessions-- repetitive bad thoughts. There was terrific, detailed information on reducing compulsive behavior such as hand washing, but I found myself wanting more on how to address the obsessive bad thoughts that often accompany OCD. I would highly recommend this book for families wanting to know more about helping their child with OCD, as well as for therapists seeking new tools to use with young clients.

John March - as usual- has provided a comprehensive view and treatment manual for OCD. Might be too difficult to apply as a parent, but a wonderful resource for any professional!

Our son started showing signs of OCD when he was 4 years old. OCD runs in the family. He had bouts with different compultions (washing, organizing) But when he was ten years old we were under a particularly stressful time of moving he had a very bad outbreak. (mainly obsessive thoughts like going blind and spiritual fears) We went to a psychologist and with his support and this book our son is doing extremely well. Our psychologist did not have experience with OCD but a visiting psychologist did have experience with kids with OCD and diagnosed him with OCD. We mainly did the therapy at home for a few months and just used the psychologist as a check-in to make sure we were on the right track. Through the therapy he has been given skills to combat OCD in his life. I highly reccommend this book.

Very detailed, evidence-based "user manual" for families facing OCD; nicely supports the shorted book written specifically for kids "What to do when your Brain Gets Stuck".

Talking Back to OCD is an excellent book and resource for families. You can't always access a counselor but it is critical for parents and children to work together to overcome and learn to handle OCD. This book allows you to do just that. There is no easy solution to OCD, the more you know about it, the more you will be able to help the person who has it and yourself. OCD is not easy to overcome, you have to work at it and this book helps you do that.

Therapy helps, so do medications but this book will help you feel as if you are not in it alone. When you can't find encouragement this book will help. It eases the mind of the child who suffers from OCD to know that someone else understands how they feel and think and helps take away the negative aspects by helping to focus on what is working. I am glad we found and bought the book.

Item arrived in a timely manner and was in excellent (new) condition. Thanks!