Guest: Michael A. Tompkins, PhD author of OCD: A Guide for The Newly Diagnosed.

About the book: When someone is diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chances are they’ve been living with the symptoms for a long time. People with OCD may have long felt embarrassed by their thoughts and behaviors, which may include fear of contamination, the need for symmetry, pathological doubt, aggressive thoughts, repeating behaviors, and obsessive cleaning. OCD: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed helps readers understand how OCD works so they can develop better strategies for coping with their symptoms. This pocket guide offers guidance for coping with the diagnosis itself, discusses stigmas related to OCD, and includes help for readers unsure of who they should tell about the diagnosis. Readers also learn about the most effective treatment approaches and easy ways to begin to manage their OCD symptoms.   An OCD diagnosis can be a devastating event, or it can be a catalyst for positive change. Books in the Guides for the Newly Diagnosed series provide readers with all the tools they need to process a diagnosis in the healthiest way possible, and then move forward to manage their symptoms so that the disorder doesn’t get in the way of living a fulfilling life.   This book is a part of New Harbinger Publications’ Guides for the Newly Diagnosed series.The series was created to help people who have recently been diagnosed with a mental health condition. Our goal is to offer user-friendly resources that provide answers to common questions readers may have after receiving a diagnosis, as well as evidence-based strategies to help them cope with and manage their condition, so that they can get back to living a more balanced life.   About the author: Dr. Michael A. Tompkins is the author of six books. His latest book for anxious adults is Anxiety and Avoidance: A Universal Treatment for Anxiety, Panic, and Fear. He is co-director of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy, a diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, a trainer for the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Research, and assistant clinical professor, University of California, Berkeley.   His book for anxious teenagers, My Anxious Mind: A Teen’s Guide to Managing Anxiety and Panic is a Magination Press/American Psychological Association bestseller and received the 2011 Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit Award.