A school psychologist has been living a great life-his personal and professional adventures are fulfilling, and he believes only blue skies are on the horizon.

And then, while enjoying a do-it-yourself project, he is stricken abruptly with bizarre and painful intrusive thoughts he's never known before. Unable to find relief, he sees a psychiatrist and then volunteers to enter a mental health clinic. He is diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

More than regaining control over his own mental health, he sets out on a path to change the way society perceives OCD and treats it. He connects with a neurosurgeon, and their work together has a significant impact on the treatment of OCD worldwide.

Researcher Cal Richard wrote the novel Curing the OCD Mind for those suffering from this cruel and disabling mental disorder, but also health care professionals working with them-psychiatrists, psychologists, psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, neurosurgeons, primary care physicians, clinicians, counselors, K-12 educators, therapists, and OCD foundations. Richard hopes this unique approach-fiction built on over four decades of study-will help convey the book's message perhaps even more than a purely academic book would. He believes that the current treatment for OCD is flawed, offering false hope, and he hopes Curing the OCD Mind will show just that: that OCD isn't just manageable but curable.