The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing

In this classic study of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a distinguished psychiatrist offers hope and help for those suffering from mental illness, suggesting pathways forward through behavioral therapies and mediation.

Drawing on the extraordinary experiences of her patients, Dr. Judith Rapoport unravels the mysteries surrounding OCD, an emotionally crippling affliction that affects millions of Americans. The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Washing follows Dr. Rapaport’s patient, the pseudonymous “David,” who developed such severe OCD symptoms that he spent so long each day washing himself and cleaning his home that he could no longer keep a job.
 
Through the example of her treatment of “David,” Dr. Rapoport explores the ways in which OCD manifests, how it affects individuals and their families, and the treatment options available to those who suffer from this mental illness.
 
Revealing breakthroughs in diagnosis, therapies, and medication, as well as offering guidelines for diagnosis, resources, and references, Dr. Rapaport offers hope and practical advice for those seeking help for themselves or their loved ones with OCD.Acknowledgments
Introduction

Part I: The Patients Speak: Parents
1. The Auto Accident That Never Was
2. Rituals and Contaminations: Zach and His Family

Part II: The Patients Speak: Children
3. Paul: Stuck in the Doorway
4. Arnie: The Paper Route
5. Morris: Mr. Clean

Part III: A Doctor's Perspective
6. The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing
7. The Doubting Disease
8. Is OCD a Brain Disease?
9. Unlearning to Understand
10. Anafranil: A Wonder Drug?
11. David's Drug Odyssey
12. How Sweet It Is!
13. The Hidden
14. No Joke
15. The Music Goes 'Round and 'Round
16. My Mind on My Mind
17. Over and Over Again
18. The Secret Life of a Street Person
19. Count Me Out
20. Love Story
21. AIDS: The New Obsession
22. The Hair-Pulling Women
23. Innocent Sinners
24. A Thousand Commitments to God

Part IV: On the Boundaries
25. The Obsessionality of Everyday Life
26. Knock Wood
27. Grooming and Nesting
28. I Can't Get You Out of My Mind
29. Free Will and the Uncertainty of Knowing

Part V: Do You Have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
30. Making the Diagnosis
31. What to Do If You Have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Epilogue
Appendix: The Religious Perspective
References and Suggested Reading
Index

"Deeply moving and impressive."
—Oliver Sacks, M.D., author of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

"Offers help to millions who suffer in silence."
—Chicago Tribune

"First-rate meticulous clinical observation and state-of-the-art laboratory studies illuminate an important human problem."
—Leon Eisenberg, M.D., Harvard Medical School

"This book, with its information and lively writing, and informed by the author's obvious compassion for her patients, makes an important contribution to understanding an intriguing and irrational illness."
—The New York Times Book Review

Dr. Judith L. Rapoport is Chief of the child Psychiatry Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. A graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Mediacl School, she has been the recipient of the Outstanding Service Award from the U.S. Public Health Service and the Ittleson Prize in Child Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association. She lives with her family in Washington D.C.