OCD Treatment
Exposure and Response Prevention
Helping Children and Teens Overcome Intrusive Thoughts and Compulsive Behaviors
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD can be an overwhelming struggle that significantly impacts your child’s and your own life. While media often focuses on themes like Contamination (Germs) and Orderliness, OCD encompasses various intrusive thoughts, including but not limited to:
• Harm OCD: Fear of harming others or oneself.
• Religious/Moral OCD: Fear of offending God or excessive concern with morality.
• Contamination OCD: Fear of germs or contamination.
• Just Right OCD: Needing things to feel just right or complete.
• Health OCD: Excessive concern with illness or disease.
These thoughts can be terrifying for children and may feel life-threatening. However, effective treatment is available to help them break free from these patterns. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is recognized as the gold-standard treatment for OCD. It involves facing situations that trigger uncomfortable thoughts while reducing and eliminating compulsive behaviors.
OCD can be an overwhelming struggle that significantly impacts your child’s and your own life. While media often focuses on themes like Contamination (Germs) and Orderliness, OCD encompasses various intrusive thoughts, including but not limited to:
• Harm OCD: Fear of harming others or oneself.
• Religious/Moral OCD: Fear of offending God or excessive concern with morality.
• Contamination OCD: Fear of germs or contamination.
• Just Right OCD: Needing things to feel just right or complete.
• Health OCD: Excessive concern with illness or disease.
These thoughts can be terrifying for children and may feel life-threatening. However, effective treatment is available to help them break free from these patterns. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is recognized as the gold-standard treatment for OCD. It involves facing situations that trigger uncomfortable thoughts while reducing and eliminating compulsive behaviors.
Treatment Duration and Approach
While treatment duration varies, ERP typically consists of 12-20 structured sessions. Success in ERP requires high levels of motivation from both the child and the parent. Significant progress often occurs through consistent practice of new skills between sessions.