I’ve gathered as many resources as possible in one place for those who suffer from OCD, treat OCD sufferers, or those who have a relationship with someone who is suffering from OCD. Let me know if you have any recommended resources that I haven’t mentioned here.

BOOKS

• Rapoport, Judith L. The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing: The Experience and Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Signet, 1991. – Dr. Rapoport works with the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) to research and treat OCD. This is perhaps one of the best volumes I have ever read on OCD. It is exceptionally useful because of its heavy emphasis on case examples, which is helpful in overcoming the feeling of “aloneness” that many OCD sufferers struggle with, the book is becoming a bit dated – though the case studies are timeless.¹Especially its treatment of medications for OCD, at the time the book was written few medications were available for OCD – and the particular one researched in this book has greater side effects than more recently discovered medications.
• Crawford, Mark. The Obsessive-Compulsive Trap: Real Help for a Real Disorder. Regal Books, 2004. – Dr. Crawford writes a short but excellent overview of OCD including tackling its nature among children and teenagers, the relationship of OCD to one’s spiritual life, and the available non-pharmacological treatments. If you aren’t a big reader or this is your first foray into OCD – this is a good primer.
• Baer, Lee. Getting Control: Overcoming Your Obsessions and Complusions. Plume, 2001. – Dr. Baer originally wrote this book shortly after Rapoport’s Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing, which treats OCD largely from a pharmacological perspective (and in fact, Dr. Rapoport writes the foreward for this volume). Baer’s book focuses on the treatment of OCD using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), particularly Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). The book helps one understand the nature of CBT and ERP and also provides guidelines for executing CBT/ERP on one’s own as a method of self-help against OCD.

FILM

• USA Networks. Monk. – A humorous television series which chronicles the adventures of Adrian Monk, a OCD sufferer whose sickness is also his greatest strength as it allows him to notice details that others overlook. Good for offering ourselves a humorous view of our behaviors and a good laugh never hurt us.

WEBSITES

• Obsessive Compulsive Foundation. – The largest non-profit organization that advocates for sufferers and researches OCD. An essential resource for anyone suffering from OCD. Their website includes large amounts of information and they have many other resources (e.g. books, videos, newsletters, support groups) that can be of great use.

RESEARCH ARTICLES

• Available Free Online
  • Elizabeth A. Nelson, Jonathan S. Abramowitz, Stephen P. Whiteside, Brett J. Deacon. “Scrupulosity in Patients with Obsessive-Compsulive Disorder: Relationship to Clinical and Cognitive Phenomena.” Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 20, 2006, 1071-1086.
• Available Paid Online
• Unavailable Online
  • BA Fallon, MR Liebowitz, E Hollander, FR Schneier, RB Campeas, J Fairbanks, LA Papp, JA Hatterer, D Sandberg. “The Pharmacotherapy of Moral or Religious Scrupulosity.” The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 1990, 51(12):517-521.