14 Best OCD Books

Jonathan Grayson presents a personalized approach to understanding OCD and working with uncertainty. Self-assessments, case studies, exposure-based exercises, and planning tools help readers examine their own patterns and develop strategies for addressing fears, compulsions, and obstacles during treatment.

Lee Baer explores unwanted obsessive thoughts and the fear, guilt, and worry they can produce. Drawing on clinical experience and research, he examines why such thoughts become distressing, how they differ from dangerous intentions, and approaches used to address them.

Jon Hershfield and Tom Corboy combine mindfulness with cognitive behavioral techniques in a workbook for OCD. Exercises encourage awareness of the present moment and a different relationship with intrusive thoughts, while discussions address the compulsive urges and interpretations that accompany them.

Jeffrey M. Schwartz and Beverly Beyette explain a four-step approach to obsessive-compulsive behavior through patient stories and cognitive exercises. The book examines identifying obsessive thoughts, redirecting attention, and changing habitual responses to compulsive urges.

Bruce M. Hyman and Cherlene Pedrick explain obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors through a self-directed workbook. Assessments, examples, and cognitive behavioral exercises help readers examine their patterns, plan responses, and consider how OCD affects daily life and family relationships.

Ian Osborn combines clinical knowledge and personal experience in an account of OCD's symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Case histories illustrate different obsessions and rituals, while discussions of therapy, medication, childhood signs, and family support introduce the disorder's wider effects.

Jonathan Abramowitz presents a ten-step workbook grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy for OCD. Stories, assessments, and practical exercises help readers understand their symptoms, develop a personalized plan, confront avoided situations, and work toward changing compulsive responses to intrusive thoughts.

Sally Winston and Martin Seif explain why unwanted intrusive thoughts become frightening and difficult to dismiss. Cognitive behavioral tools address the anxiety and shame surrounding these experiences, helping readers examine how their reactions can keep distressing thoughts feeling significant.

Eli Lebowitz presents the SPACE program for parents of children with anxiety and OCD. Step-by-step guidance examines accommodating behaviors and supportive responses, showing how parents can acknowledge a child's difficulties while expressing confidence in their ability to cope.

Jon Hershfield and Shala Nicely introduce mindfulness, self-compassion, and humor as everyday tools for living with OCD. Meditations, exercises, and practical games accompany discussions of managing symptoms and preventing relapse while making room for enjoyment beyond the disorder.

Shala Nicely recounts living with OCD from childhood into adulthood and her efforts to understand and address it. Her memoir explores secrecy, relationships, and treatment, connecting personal experience with the perspective she later brings to her work as a therapist.

Martin Seif and Sally Winston examine the cycle of compulsive checking and reassurance seeking. Cognitive behavioral strategies help readers distinguish information gathering from repeated demands for certainty, tolerate doubt, and change habits that can reinforce anxiety and undermine confidence.

David Veale and Rob Willson explain OCD through a self-help approach based on cognitive behavioral therapy. The guide examines disturbing thoughts, images, urges, and rituals, with practical strategies for facing feared situations and changing patterns of obsessive behavior.

Jon Hershfield explains how OCD affects family relationships and household routines. Guidance on mindfulness, cognitive behavioral skills, and compassionate communication helps relatives understand symptoms and consider their responses to compulsions, obsessions, and repeated requests for reassurance.