Carolyn-good days-bad days

[Guest guest]

I struggle with my daughter's (10) meltdowns, clothes issues, etc.

Now her aunt has come down with cancer. My daughter wants to find a

cure for cancer! These children are so bright, I believe they can

do amazing things. She didn't want to go to therapy the other day

because " she had a good day " . She feels like a weirdo going to

therapy because " that's what tv and cartoons make it out to be. " I

like how one of you put it. We are co-therapists here at home. Not

a job I wanted, but she does open up to me (at bedtime!)

I really appreciate this site. She is on the kid sight, but not

getting much response. Kids have sports, etc. I guess. I made the

mistake telling her 1 out of 200 children have ocd. She goes to a

Christian school with 250 students total. So she figured she's the

only one! I was able to tell her of another child with ocd who

attends there but, of course, that didn't make her feel much

better. It didn't help that dad went to therapy only 3 months.

She's been 3 times and just giggles and answers " I don't know " to

everything. Don't know whether to make her go or not? Any ideas?

Jane

[Guest guest]

Hi Jane-

((Hugs)) to you. We, too, struggled a lot with not only attending

therapy sessions, but also working hard in therapy and doing

homework ERP. My daughter is now 14 (just Wednesday) who was

diagnosed with OCD in October 2002. For over a year therapy co-

operation was a big issue for us. One of the factors, we

discovered, was that therapy is HARD WORK, and it's scary. As

someone else posted, we found rewards to be helpful. First of all,

I let my daughter know that I understood that therapy was scary and

hard and not much fun, but that I also loved *her* too much to let

OCD rule her (and our) life, and therefore we were requiring that

she go to therapy. She was allowed to choose a fun activity after

therapy...for her, going to the pet store was absolutely

therapeutic...she relaxed SO much in the presence of animals. So,

for about eight months, we headed for the pet store for 20 minutes

after the therapy session and she was able unwind in the presence of

friendly animals. We also used a reward 'points' system for ERP at

home. She was able to 'cash' in her points for small prizes of

various value (e.g. pencil, book, fancy notebook paper...all things

that she chose to put in the reward box) when she wanted.

Do you feel the therapist is a good fit for your daughter? We also

needed to change therapists after about 9 months because my daughter

really had difficulty discussing some of her bad thought O's to a

male therapist just as she was in the midst of puberty. We have

found a female therapist who my daughter really seems to relate to

well...in fact, when her dog was no longer allowed to accompany her

to therapy (he made her more comfortable and open in her

communication), she chose continuing with this therapist instead of

finding a new one.

Best wishes to you. Let us know how it is going-

Blessings-

(Ohio) Anne (now 14(!), OCD-Lexapro & ERP, Inattentive ADHD-

Concerta, and Diabetes-insulin) who won best defensive player for

her field hockey team this year!!!...pardon my maternal button-

popping pride

[Guest guest]

Hi Jane-

((Hugs)) to you. We, too, struggled a lot with not only attending

therapy sessions, but also working hard in therapy and doing

homework ERP. My daughter is now 14 (just Wednesday) who was

diagnosed with OCD in October 2002. For over a year therapy co-

operation was a big issue for us. One of the factors, we

discovered, was that therapy is HARD WORK, and it's scary. As

someone else posted, we found rewards to be helpful. First of all,

I let my daughter know that I understood that therapy was scary and

hard and not much fun, but that I also loved *her* too much to let

OCD rule her (and our) life, and therefore we were requiring that

she go to therapy. She was allowed to choose a fun activity after

therapy...for her, going to the pet store was absolutely

therapeutic...she relaxed SO much in the presence of animals. So,

for about eight months, we headed for the pet store for 20 minutes

after the therapy session and she was able unwind in the presence of

friendly animals. We also used a reward 'points' system for ERP at

home. She was able to 'cash' in her points for small prizes of

various value (e.g. pencil, book, fancy notebook paper...all things

that she chose to put in the reward box) when she wanted.

Do you feel the therapist is a good fit for your daughter? We also

needed to change therapists after about 9 months because my daughter

really had difficulty discussing some of her bad thought O's to a

male therapist just as she was in the midst of puberty. We have

found a female therapist who my daughter really seems to relate to

well...in fact, when her dog was no longer allowed to accompany her

to therapy (he made her more comfortable and open in her

communication), she chose continuing with this therapist instead of

finding a new one.

Best wishes to you. Let us know how it is going-

Blessings-

(Ohio) Anne (now 14(!), OCD-Lexapro & ERP, Inattentive ADHD-

Concerta, and Diabetes-insulin) who won best defensive player for

her field hockey team this year!!!...pardon my maternal button-

popping pride

[Guest guest]

Hi Jane-

((Hugs)) to you. We, too, struggled a lot with not only attending

therapy sessions, but also working hard in therapy and doing

homework ERP. My daughter is now 14 (just Wednesday) who was

diagnosed with OCD in October 2002. For over a year therapy co-

operation was a big issue for us. One of the factors, we

discovered, was that therapy is HARD WORK, and it's scary. As

someone else posted, we found rewards to be helpful. First of all,

I let my daughter know that I understood that therapy was scary and

hard and not much fun, but that I also loved *her* too much to let

OCD rule her (and our) life, and therefore we were requiring that

she go to therapy. She was allowed to choose a fun activity after

therapy...for her, going to the pet store was absolutely

therapeutic...she relaxed SO much in the presence of animals. So,

for about eight months, we headed for the pet store for 20 minutes

after the therapy session and she was able unwind in the presence of

friendly animals. We also used a reward 'points' system for ERP at

home. She was able to 'cash' in her points for small prizes of

various value (e.g. pencil, book, fancy notebook paper...all things

that she chose to put in the reward box) when she wanted.

Do you feel the therapist is a good fit for your daughter? We also

needed to change therapists after about 9 months because my daughter

really had difficulty discussing some of her bad thought O's to a

male therapist just as she was in the midst of puberty. We have

found a female therapist who my daughter really seems to relate to

well...in fact, when her dog was no longer allowed to accompany her

to therapy (he made her more comfortable and open in her

communication), she chose continuing with this therapist instead of

finding a new one.

Best wishes to you. Let us know how it is going-

Blessings-

(Ohio) Anne (now 14(!), OCD-Lexapro & ERP, Inattentive ADHD-

Concerta, and Diabetes-insulin) who won best defensive player for

her field hockey team this year!!!...pardon my maternal button-

popping pride