OCD Treatment Through Storytelling: A Strategy for Successful Therapy

Storytelling and metaphor are among the most effective and useful tools therapists can use to better identify with their clients, clearly explain a disorder to family members, and introduce new treatment options. Based on years of clinical work with clients with OCD and their families, OCD Treatment Through Storytelling contains dozens of stories that therapists can adapt and employ in their own practices to explain hard-to-grasp aspects of OCD and its most effective treatment, Exposure and Response Prevention. Through Allen Weg's engaging narratives, an experience at Toronto's CN Tower becomes a lesson about OCD treatment; a popular science fiction film is a parable on how clients can overcome fears and phobias. Entertaining and accessible, these stories-some autobiographical, some universal-each illuminate a feeling, a strategy, a dynamic, or an intervention relevant to OCD or its treatment. Stories become methods of instruction and engagement in treatment, creating a solid foundation upon which to build understanding, empathy and support for those with OCD and their families. OCD Treatment Through Storytelling is a unique and useful resource for all mental health professionals who provide therapeutic services to persons with OCD and their families, and will be of interest to anyone wishing to better understand "the OCD experience."