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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Children

Children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) experience frequent, recurrent, and intrusive thoughts (obsessions). These obsessions are often accompanied by an overwhelming urge to engage in some behavior (compulsions) to undo or prevent the thought, or to reduce the anxiety caused by the thought

Common obsessions include:

  • Concern about contact with germs/disease
  • Getting things “just right”
  • Health of oneself or of family members
  • Excessive doubting
  • Hearing songs repeatedly
  • Scary, nonsensical, or obscene images or thoughts that keep popping in one’s head
  • Fear of losing things

Examples of compulsions:

  • Excessive amount of time washing, checking things, or seeking reassurance
  • Counting
  • Rewriting things like homework
  • Saving items that are no longer needed
  • Redoing even simple tasks several times to make them “perfect”
  • Rereading words
  • Saying words over again several times
  • Bedtime or morning rituals (i.e. teeth brushing) that take a long time and cause distress
  • Untying shoes and retying shoes several times until it feels “right”
  • Touching things a certain way or repeatedly

Roughly 2.5% of the general population suffers from OCD. The disorder typically appears in adolescence, and follows a chronic waxing and waning course. Symptoms tend to flare up during times of increased stress. Regrettably, the majority of children suffering with OCD do not seek out treatment.

If these symptoms seem relevant to you or your child, we can help. Feel free to contact us by calling our main desk at (212) 246-5740.

The Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD) provides evidence-based treatments for all of the anxiety disorders that can afflict children, including: