Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Childhood OCD

Children with symptoms of OCD are eligible to receive cognitive therapy plus exposure and response prevention, an empirically supported cognitive behavioral therapy for this disorder.

During this treatment children learn how to:

• Understand the nature of their OCD symptoms
• Recognize triggers to their OCD
• Develop the cognitive and behavioral skills to resist rituals

It can be difficult for young children to talk about their OCD symptoms because they are embarrassed or think that something might be wrong with them. Our program gives children the opportunity to talk about their symptoms in a supportive environment. They learn that OCD may be more common than they thought as other children also experience similar symptoms.

During treatment, children learn how to recognize the difference between OCD thoughts and their own thoughts. The child and therapist work together to understand specific triggers of the OCD and develop a plan to reduce OCD. The next step is to develop cognitive behavioral skills to resist mental or physical rituals that the child has used to minimize the anxiety associated with OCD. Through repeated practice, children learn that he or she does not have to engage in these rituals to reduce anxiety.