If your child is diagnosed with OCD you may want to consider having her see a specialist – a psychologist or psychiatrist – for ongoing treatment. "And don't be afraid to ask for someone with experience in treating pediatric OCD," says Mendlowitz. "Ask about the therapist’s background and training."
If the symptoms aren't quite severe enough to qualify as the actual disorder, parents may be able to work with their child to lessen his or her anxiety. Mendlowitz recommends Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Powerful, Practical Program for Parents of Children and Adolescents (Crown, 2001), by Tamar E. Chansky, director of the Children's Center for OCD and Anxiety in Philadelphia.
For both mild and more severe cases of OCD, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the frontline treatment. In a safe environment, the child is gradually exposed to what triggers her behaviour, and is encouraged not to respond with the ritual for a progressively longer period of time. In addition, medication such as the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors Zoloft (sertraline) and Anafranil (clomipramine) are helpful for some kids with OCD, especially if CBT is not readily available in the child's community, says Mendlowitz. If the child's OCD is severe, such medications may be necessary to "take the edge off" so thought processes are available to be worked on during therapy. Early and proper intervention is the key for a successful treatment outcome.
Support groups
Because Tessa's brother Graydon was being treated for leukemia at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and Tessa had joined a siblings with cancer support group there, she occasionally sat in on Graydon's regular meetings with a psychiatrist to talk cancer and its effects on our family. That doctor was the first to see more than depression in Tessa, and referred her for an assessment in the anxiety disorders clinic.
At age 11, Tessa attended a CBT group program with three other children diagnosed with OCD. It was an incredible 12 weeks. Tessa learned meditation, relaxation, self-talk, positive imaging and other tricks and tools that she actively practised during the program, and continued to use afterward. She really took to the group therapy format, and I think it was because she was very motivated and verbal that she didn't need medication.
Today, Tessa can sleep in her bed, even let her youngest brother climb up on it. She retains only one little box of string and crafts, poems, toys and hair clips from Grade 1, but that seems exhilaratingly normal to me!
Now 16, she's in Grade 11 at an arts high school, dances competitively, works part time, moderates a group on Facebook about clinical depression and takes a million digital photos a week, mostly of her youngest brother.
Tessa will always have OCD. It lurks in her, waiting for her to get stressed-out, overscheduled and emotionally vulnerable. When I see it start whirring up in her, I say, "Isn't that a little OCD-ish?" By that time, though, she's already working on a strategy to beat it.
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