Re: Trouble finding professional Help

April 7, 2008

CArr,

I know that horrible feeling, not being able to find a therapist and

how do you know how good they are once you find them?? I am looking

for a therapist as well and I am having trouble as well.

Please know that you are not alone and this site will help us all to

stay SANE when dealing with this INSANITY!!!

DC

-- In , " carrie_b41 "

wrote:

>

> I am getting so incredibly frustrated! My 8 yr old son has

suffered

> from OCD for at least 3 years now. We have tried to find help but

most

> therapists in our area are not taking new patients. We gave up

looking

> last year and have tried to deal with this on our own, through

books

> and the advice from this group - but it is clear that our son (and

we)

> need professional help! Our family is being torn apart by this

awful

> thing and my son is feeling more and more alienated and out of

control

> and un-lovable and full of rage. I left messages for four (four!)

> listed professionals in our area (from ocd organizations) and not

one

> of them has returned my calls after over a week, even though I must

> have sounded so desperate and in need of help. Has anyone else had

> this problem?! I need help! We are in the SF Bay area.

>

> Carr

>

April 8, 2008

Yes, Carr. . We did. I looked for 3 months. I called everywhere. .

..DAILY! I called every Children's Hospital, major universities, and

therapist after therapist. Every time someone told me " no " , I asked

for names of someone else they could recommend and followed that up

with calls. I remember when I finally found someone who knew what

they were doing. . .To my embarrassment, I started crying. She felt

so bad for me, that she offered to take us, even though her practice

was closed and she was moving out of the country. She offered to take

us and get our son started, until she left OR we could find someone

else, whichever came first. Amazing. .Some people do still care.

Try the OCFoundation.org website. They have therapists listed. but,

be prepared to interview and make sure they use CBT specific to OCD,

and ERP. Not all listed there specialize in the treatment of OCD.

Also you can try anxiety clinic, they often treat OCD too since it is

an anxiety disorder. Another great source is OCD support groups in

your state, I emailed all of them within a 100 miles of our home. Be

prepared to commute some, since qualified help is rare, and only the

lucky can find them close by. You can also call people who treat only

adults with OCD, but ask them for referrals for those who treat kids.

If they don't return your calls. . Be a pest and call again. lol I

was. I got to the point that I didn't care what they thought of me. .

My son needed help and I became more determined each day. I found if

they were worth going to, they were understanding.

Best of luck to you. I hope you find someone soon.

BJ

>

> I am getting so incredibly frustrated! My 8 yr old son has suffered

> from OCD for at least 3 years now. We have tried to find help but most

> therapists in our area are not taking new patients. We gave up looking

> last year and have tried to deal with this on our own, through books

> and the advice from this group - but it is clear that our son (and we)

> need professional help! Our family is being torn apart by this awful

> thing and my son is feeling more and more alienated and out of control

> and un-lovable and full of rage. I left messages for four (four!)

> listed professionals in our area (from ocd organizations) and not one

> of them has returned my calls after over a week, even though I must

> have sounded so desperate and in need of help. Has anyone else had

> this problem?! I need help! We are in the SF Bay area.

>

> Carr

>

April 8, 2008

Hi Carr,

Actually our first experience with trying to find a specialist was a

couple years ago when our son had GERD (gastroesophageal reflux

disease). We didn't know he had GERD. He was waking up nauseous most

mornings and vomiting many mornings. He was missing a lot of school.

So, I started making phone calls trying to find a specialist. Well, he

was almost 16 at the time. So, I didn't want a pediatric

gastroenterologist, but most of the ones for adults didn't see people

under 18. Took awhile to find one and then of course had to wait

several weeks to actually get an appt. I actually had a teacher at the

school insinuate that we weren't trying hard enough to get him in to a

specialist. She thought we could just call one up and force them to

make time in their schedule to see our son. It was very frustrating.

But, I learned from that and it was a little easier when we started to

try to find a psychologist or psychiatrist when our son (now 17. has OCD

and GAD) started having anxiety issues this past fall. You have to be

persistent and don't wait for them to call back. Most specialists

won't. It's frustrating how hard it is to get in to see a specialist.

If you need a specialist, it usually means you're pretty sick. And yet,

you have to wait weeks to get in. Doesn't make sense. Hang in there.

Take care

Connie