Abstract

When your child has OCD your world can turn upside down and inside out. Claire Sanders has been managing her son's severe OCD for more than 8 years and, although there are no quick fixes, she has learnt a few tips along the way. These cover what is involved in getting a diagnosis, what to expect in therapy, how to cope with panic attacks, how it might affect the rest of your family and how you might feel as a parent. She talks with honesty and humour about these and many other aspects of her son's illness providing practical advice and insight from one parent to another.

This is a must-read for any parent or carer who has a child with OCD. It is the equivalent of a comforting chat with a friend who has been through it all before and can reassure you that you are not alone.

OCD not only affects the person with the condition, but also the people who are emotionally close to the sufferer. In this book, Claire Sanders provides an excellent overview of the nature and treatments for OCD, before focusing on OCD's interpersonal impact and what parents can do to help their families survive. If you have a child with OCD, this book is for you.
Jonathan S. Abramowitz, PhD, Professor and Associate Chair of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
An extremely heart-felt honest, powerful account of having a child with OCD that will give some direct, helpful advice to parents who have a child with OCD.
Senior Nurse Practitioner, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Claire Sanders is the mother of a teenage son who has had severe OCD since the age of 6. She had no previous interest in medicine or mental health and worked as an advertising and website copywriter until everything changed and she involuntarily became an expert in dealing with an OCD child. Claire now provides 24 hour care to her son and lives in Hampshire, UK with her family.
A well written book about the struggles of living with a child who suffers with OCD.
Senior Support Worker, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Not just parents will benefit from the advice set out in 'Parenting OCD'. If you are a teacher, health care professional or just an interested spectator, then you too will gain invaluable knowledge of this brutal condition from a first-hand perspective...
In Our Hands blog

As clinicians dealing frequently with OCD, we never cease to be struck by the massive impact of the disorder on families.
This book presents a first-hand account of the facts and challenges that a parent of a child with OCD may encounter in a refreshing, down to earth and humorous style. It is a "must-read" for parents and clinicians interested in gaining a deeper insight into the challenges that families encounter when children suffer with OCD.

Dr Bruce Clark, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and Dr Tolulope Olowe, Specialist Trainee in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Specialist OCD Clinic, Maudsley Hospital, London
I wish I'd had this book when my son was a teenager and we were trying to figure out how to help him with his OCD. It's funny, honest and real, and explains both how OCD works as well as how a parent could cope with it in a way that was actually entertaining. A great book.
Kerry Knight, mother
Accessible yet not simplistic, informative but never overwhelming, entertaining without ever denying the seriousness of its subject matter, Sanders' book sheds light on the unexpected ways in which a family can be affected by a diagnosis of OCD. The fact that it's a must read for anyone who is in any way involved with this condition absolutely goes without saying.
Dariush Alavi, Children with Special Needs Specialist Teacher