The Compulsive Reassurance Seeking Workbook: CBT Skills to Help You Live with Confidence and Break the Cycle of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

by Amanda Petrik-Gardner LCPC, Nathan Peterson LCSW (Foreword by)

Overview

Learn to trust your own senses, live with confidence, and break the cycle of compulsive reassurance seeking with this empowering, step-by-step workbook.

Are you constantly seeking reassurance from others? Do you suffer from debilitating anxiety if you aren’t absolutely certain about everything? Seeking reassurance to remove doubt or fear is natural, and we all do it from time to time. However, it becomes a compulsion when it develops into something repetitive and ritualistic. This compulsion is linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), can perpetuate and worsen this condition, and can also create conflict between you, your friends, coworkers, and loved ones. So, how do you stop?

The Compulsive Reassurance Seeking Workbook offers proven-effective tools to reduce compulsions, make peace with uncertainty, and better manage your OCD. Grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an evidence-based treatment for OCD, this cutting-edge workbook reveals how reassurance seeking can interfere with your relationships, and provides healthy coping strategies you can use to reassure yourself—without resorting to compulsive questioning.

Compulsive reassurance seeking can be exhausting, and more often than not, exposes you and those closest to you to increased levels of conflict, stress, and anxiety. It’s time to reassure yourself the right way—a way that encourages and empowers you to seek genuine well-being, self-worth, and peace of mind from within. This workbook can help you get started today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781648482502
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	06/01/2024
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Amanda Petrik-Gardner, LCPC, is an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and body-focused repetitive behavior (BFRB) specialist, licensed in multiple states. She is a member of the International OCD Foundation, TLC Foundation for BFRBs, and the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Amanda is on the board for OCD Kansas, a state affiliate of the International OCD Foundation, and is author of An OCD Exposure Coloring Book. She is from Topeka, KS.

Nathan Peterson, LCSW, has extensive expertise in the treatment of OCD, anxiety, tics, Tourette’s syndrome, and various body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs). He maintains a private practice in Allen, TX.

Editorial Reviews

The Compulsive Reassurance Seeking Workbook is a beacon of hope for individuals facing the challenges of reassurance seeking. Amanda, an expert in the field, has created a comprehensive guide that skillfully addresses the complexities of reassurance seeking while transforming the difficulties of this disorder into a manageable and empowering process. A must-read for anyone seeking practical solutions and lasting changes.”
—Jenna Overbaugh, LPC, creator of The OCD and Anxiety Recovery Blueprint, and host of the All The Hard Things podcast

Jenna Overbaugh

Reassurance seeking compulsions can be exhausting for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) sufferers and their loved ones. This practical book does a thorough job of providing you with evidence-based tools based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that will help you eliminate reassurance compulsions so that you can gain trust in yourself and live your life more freely.”
—Kim Rockwell-Evans, PhD, founder of OCD and Anxiety Specialists of Dallas, and author of Breaking the Rules of OCD

Kim Rockwell-Evans

If the quest for certainty has become a habit that you just can’t break, this practical guide will be your best friend. You’ll get a set of easy-to-learn skills that will teach you to trust your decisions and then handle those pesky doubts that come with them. This is just what you need to take back your life.”
—Reid Wilson, PhD, author of Stopping the Noise in Your Head

Reid Wilson

Amanda Petrik-Gardner has taken her sound clinical skills and created an easily digestible OCD workbook! This book is gold for anyone who is looking to jump-start their recovery. Therapists will also find this workbook to be a valuable supplement to any therapy session.”
—Natasha Daniels, OCD therapist, and author of Crushing OCD Workbook for Kids

Natasha Daniels

This workbook is truly transformative for anyone passionate about the OCD treatment and recovery journey. Providing a groundbreaking shift in perspective, it enhanced my understanding personally and professionally. It explores overlooked forms of compulsive reassurance seeking and offers accessible, evidence-based steps for reclaiming life. A must-read for clinicians, individuals with OCD, family members, and faith leaders—it compassionately reshapes approaches to addressing reassurance seeking within the context of OCD.”
—Rev. Katie O’Dunne, faith/OCD specialist, and founder of the Stick with the Ick Virtual Community

Rev. Katie O’Dunne

Petrik-Gardner writes with warmth and clarity about a symptom common to all subtypes of OCD. She provides tools and frameworks for readers to develop awareness of common reassurance compulsions, challenge their validity, and ultimately break the OCD cycle. She also deftly explores the impact of reassurance seeking on relationships, and how to harness truly effective support in your recovery.”
—Amy Mariaskin, PhD, licensed psychologist, director of the Nashville OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center, and author of Thriving in Relationships When You Have OCD

Amy Mariaskin

Amanda Petrik-Gardner’s excellent workbook presents a number of techniques and strategies for reducing the reassurance seeking that maintains OCD. She also includes one of the first-ever set of self-help instructions for applying the power of inference-based CBT to overcoming OCD.”
—Carl Robbins, LCPC, senior clinician and director of training at The Anxiety and Stress Disorders Institute of Maryland

Carl Robbins