Although once thought to be a rare and unusual condition, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has become increasingly a part of everyday discourse as it has gathered more and more media attention. News magazines and programs have done features on the disorder and its range of symptoms, and popular culture has depicted characters suffering from OCD, such as the eponymous detective in the UPN television program, Monk.

One facet of OCD that is just beginning to be widely known is that people with the disorder can present a wide range of symptoms. Some people with OCD wash compulsively, others hoard objects, while still others-the audience of this book-struggle with obsessive thoughts. The most effective treatment techniques vary from symptom to symptom. This is why New Harbinger launched, with the publication of Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding, a series of books designed to bring the latest coping strategies for specific OCD symptoms to the people who need them most. Since that first book, we have brought readers two more titles: Overcoming Compulsive Washing and Overcoming Compulsive Checking. The professional community and OCD sufferers alike have warmly received all three books.

This fourth book in the series addresses the needs of those who struggle with obsessive thoughts they perceive as violent, disgusting, or blasphemous. Psychologists estimate that more than 50 percent of OCD sufferers experience aggressive, religious, or sexual thoughts. The goal of this book is to help people understand the impact of their control efforts on their obsessional thoughts. It works to help them recognize that thoughts, in themselves, are not threatening, dangerous, or harmful. Rather, it is the compulsive strategies they develop for coping that make the thoughts seem so harmful. The book offers safe and effective exposure exercises readers can use to limit the effect obsessive thoughts have on their lives. In addition to self-care strategies, the book includes information about choosing and making the most of professional care.

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David A. Clark, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, and professor emeritus at the University of New Brunswick. He is author or coauthor of several books on depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), including The Anxiety and Worry Workbook with Aaron T. Beck (founder of cognitive therapy), The Anxious Thoughts Workbook, The Negative Thoughts Workbook, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for OCD and Its Subtypes . Clark is a founding fellow and trainer consultant with the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, and fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association. He is author of the blog, The Runaway Mind, on www.psychologytoday.com.

Christine Purdon, PhD, CPsych, is associate professor of psychology at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, ON, Canada; and consulting psychologist with the Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, ON, Canada.

“Purdon and Clark are among the world's top experts on the nature and treatment of unwanted obsessional thoughts. In this book, they describe powerful methods for conquering this problem, based on their own research as well as studies by other leading scientists. Although most self-help books on OCD include sections on dealing with unwanted thoughts, this excellent book provides the most thorough discussion of this topic that I've seen. Whether you have disturbing religious thoughts that you can't get rid of, irrational, unwanted, aggressive or sexual impulses, or other sorts of upsetting thoughts, this book is for you!”
—Martin M. Antony, Ph.D., ABPP, director of the Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre at St. Joseph's Healthcare and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, both in Hamilton, Ontario