Customer Reviews

What to do when your Child has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Strategies and Solutions

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Every parent with a child that has OCD MUST read this book!! The sooner the better! After realizing my son had OCD I jumped on the internet only to feel sad and hopeless for my son's future. Thank goodness for Dr. Wagner's book! I read it cover to cover and put everything she suggested into play immediately!! Her book also gave me hope and made me realize I was a huge part of my son's recovery. Loaded with support, information and facts, this book became my "OCD Bible" and made a huge impact on getting the OCD in control. We had a wonderful therpist but this book is what really helped my son and our family know what to do and how to take control. My son also read her book for children entitled "Up and Down the Worry Hill" and I highly recommend that for your child as well. I now run a support group for parents of children with OCD and this book is #1 on my list. There IS hope and "What to Do When Your Child Has OCD" is crucial in your journey! Thank you Dr. Wagner! You are wonderful!!

If your child has OCD, make sure you invest in this book. I purchased several books and this one is hands-down the best no matter what your child's obsessions/compulsions or what stage you are at from first recognizing the disorder to going through the therapy.

As other reviewers have noted, it is easy to read and understand. It is also very complete and includes obsessions/compulsions not covered in other books I have read. It answers questions like "normal vs. OCD: What's the difference" - an important thing for parents to be able to recognize when their child is being themselves and when the OCD monster is affecting them. It also tells you what to expect in the first evaluation, how to navigate CBT (cognitive behavior therapy), and info on medications.
Another very helpful aspect is the school section (I even took the book with me to the teacher conference). It outlines what you should and should not share with the school/teacher and how to approach the whole subject without having your child labeled. It has "Red Flags for OCD in School"- a great thing to share with the teacher. And how to form a partnership with the school to best benefit your child.

All in all, a great and helpful book.

This is the book I wish I had during the months we waited for our appointment with the specialist. Dr. Wagner leaves no stone unturned. In plain language she speaks to the many and complex concerns parents of children with OCD have -- always with this goal: to help minimize the impact of OCD on the child and family. The personal stories woven throughout the book help put a "face" on OCD that every family living with it will understand. I particularly appreciated Dr. Wagner's respectful and empathetic treatment of parents, also victims of this disorder, in the chapters "Parenting Challenges" and "Taking Care of Yourself." This is an empowering book; one that continues to offer hope and help to parents beginning with that first suspicion that something's "not quite right." I continue to use it as a valuable resource.

"What to Do When Your Child has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" is an exhaustive, authoritative and yet highly readable examination of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in children. It is organized into two parts with the first part a thorough education in OCD. It examines what OCD is and what it is not, how it is diagnosed, causes of OCD, and various treatments. The second part provides just as thorough an education in how OCD affects your child's thoughts and behaviors. It examines the cycle of avoidance and how that cycle fuels OCD. Parenting challenges related to OCD are also discussed in detail. The text also includes an exhaustive examination of behavior therapy and how it is used to help the OCD child acquire the skills to overcome their disorder.

This is easily one of the most approachable and thorough books I have ever read on OCD. Don't forget the companion book "Up and Down the Worry Hill" that is specifically written for children with OCD to help them understand the disorder and what will happen in behavior therapy. "What to Do When Your Child has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" is a highly recommended read for anyone wanting to understand OCD better.

This was loaned to me at a time of crisis in my family. My daughter was in the throes of full-throttle OCD and we were waiting to see a therapist. I was in a panic, not knowing what to do for my child. This book was such a comfort to me, seeing that OCD is indeed treatable. It also gave examples of typical OCD behaviors, which reassured me that at least I knew what I was dealing with. It got me through the worst time in my life, because it gave me hope. Highly recommended!

Dr. Wagner manages to present a wealth of information about childhood OCD in an easy-to-read guide for parents of children with OCD. She also manages to make the book highly interesting, and even entertaining and humorous. As a developmental and clinical psychologist working with children who have OCD, I regularly recommend this book to parents. I am especially impressed with Dr. Wagner's presentation of empirically-based treatment in a form which is readily understandable to parents.

Dr. Wagner has produced a guide for parents, living with OCD in their family, that is both easy to read and straight forward. Her style, found in all her publications, is written for the lay person as well as professionals. Dr. Wagner walks the reader through the various stages of diagnosis, treatment and follow up, in a way that demonstrates that Obessive-Compulsive Disorder is treatable. The focus of treating children with cognitive behavioral therapy provides the child and their family with the tools to empower themselves with strategies which will help them overcome OCD: deal with it on a daily basis, and in the future, if OCD once again interferes with their daily living, they will have gained the knowledge to recover more effeciently. I highly recommend any of Dr. Aureen Wagner's books to anyone interested in treatment of anxiety disorders, including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

This book is very easy to read. It is very comprehensive. It is very informative. It is objective. It is my constant companion lately. My son's therapist admitted that I know much more about OCD than she does and is now reading the book.

This book is a must-have for parents AND clinicians alike. Dr. Wagner uses straightforward language to demystify both OCD in children and the ways cognitive-behavioral therapy works in treating this agonizing illness. She first helps to distinguish between rituals or obsessions that are developmentally normal vs. those that are disordered. Then she provides detailed, knowledgeable information on how to seek help, the types of therapies and medications that work, and what parents can do to assist their child in the recovery process. Most importantly, she gives an amazingly clear explanation of how the exposure and ritual prevention exercises of CBT work to dispel the rituals and reduce anxiety. And she provides compelling, and heartbreaking examples of the treatment in actual clients she has worked with. This book is clearly written by an expert clinician who exudes compassion, empathy and full understanding of the impact of OCD on the afflicted and their families. As a practicing psychologist, I routinely recommend this book (and the companion one for children, "Up and Down the Worry Hill") to all my clients -- including adult clients -- who are suffering from OCD and anxiety.

As a parent of a child with OCD, it is possible to become 'compulsive' about trying to educate yourself about the illness to help your child. This book is a comprehensive guide that helps to ask and answer your questions. There are many books out there on the subject but this book is the BEST one.