A fear of contamination drives the most common manifestation of obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD) - compulsive washing. This book provides a detailed account of the nature and causes of the various forms of a fear of contamination and their consequences, written by leading experts in the field.

Provides a comprehensive account of the topic of fear of contamination, filling a gap in the current literature As a fear of contamination is the most common manifestation of OCD, this is a condition that affects many people, and for which many people need help Written by clinicians with decades of experience treating this conditions, resulting in an authoritative and practical volume This book represents an entirely new conceptualisation of contamination fear helping clinicians to challenge clients. This book is oriented towards the client. It contains the necessary research information, but also a great deal of clinically useful material. Contains a therapist toolkit - including many forms and materials for the therapist.

Professor Rachman, is a leading clinical researcher and has numerous publications---journal articles, books and chapters in edited books. He is Emeritus Professor at the University of British Columbia and the Institute of Psychiatry, is Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a member of the British Psychological Society where he was awarded the BPS Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr Anna Coughtrey is a clinical psychologist and a clinical tutor at the University of Reading. The focus of Dr Coughtrey's research is on the advancement of cognitive behavioural therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder and mental contamination and she has a number of publications in this area. Dr Coughtrey works clinically and provided supervision in the NHS and in university settings. Dr. Radomsky is Professor of Psychology at Concordia University and Co-Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. He is the director of the Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Laboratory at Concordia, where he studies cognitive and behavioural approaches to understanding and treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, and related problems. He has received institutional, national and international awards for his research and has published a number of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters related to his work in the domains of experimental psychopathology and treatment development. Professor Radomsky is a frequently invited speaker at national and international conferences, and has a small private practice in which he works with individuals seeking help for OCD and related problems. Roz Shafran is Professor of Translational Psychology at University College London and founder of the Charlie Waller Institute of Evidence-Based Psychological Treatment. Her clinical and research interests include cognitive behavioural theories and treatments for anxiety disorders, eating disorders and perfectionism across the age range. She also has an interest in dissemination and implementation of psychological treatments. She has over 120 publications. She is an associate editor of Behaviour Research and Therapy, recipient of an award for Distinguished Contributions to Professional Psychology from the British Psychological Society and Trustee of the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust.

Provides a comprehensive account of the topic of fear of contamination, filling a gap in the current literature As a fear of contamination is the most common manifestation of OCD, this is a condition that affects many people, and for which many people need help Written by clinicians with decades of experience treating this conditions, resulting in an authoritative and practical volume This book represents an entirely new conceptualisation of contamination fear helping clinicians to challenge clients. This book is oriented towards the client. It contains the necessary research information, but also a great deal of clinically useful material. Contains a therapist toolkit - including many forms and materials for the therapist.