Re: New Here...

[Guest guest]

Welcome, .

Our son, Josh, just turned 17. Two years ago, he was so bad with his OCD (and

GAD - generalized anxiety disorder) that he couldn't even get off of the sofa

and function. He was out of school for 6 months from it, and wasn't eating or

sleeping much, because he was so overwhelmed by it all. But, today, he is

living a relatively normal life. Most wouldn't know he had OCD unless told. He

improved, which took time, with the right therapy, and for him, meds.

First of all, that therapist yelling at your son like that makes me really angry

(for you and him). That will not help at all. Your poor son is suffering with

a disorder that is controlling him. . He needs understanding, not being yelled

at. Yelling at them won't help anything. Getting the right therapist, who

understands OCD and how to treat it correctly, can make a big difference. The

therapist needs to know CBT/ERP (cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure and

response prevention). It is evidence based therapy that helps those with OCD.

Talk therapy will not work with OCD.

A good place to start looking for a therapist who understands OCD, is the

ocfoundation.org website. It has listings per state. Not all there are good,

you have to screen them and interview them (preferably by phone), but there are

some good docs there too.

If you haven't already done some reading, here are the names of some good books

that explains OCD well and also explains the correct treatment well. . .

What to do when your Child has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Aureen

Pinto Wagner Ph.D.

Helping Your Child With Ocd: A Workbook for Parents of Children With

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Lee Fitzgibbons and Cherry Pedrick

Talking Back to OCD by March

The last two are workbooks that walk you through CBT and ERP, in case you cannot

find a therapist who uses those techniques.

The rituals you described that your son is doing is typical OCD. Often what

prompts them to go in and out of a room like that is they NEED it to feel right

to them, in order for them to move on. They will keep doing it, trying to make

it " feel right " . Same with the touching. The hand washing is often associated

with contamination fears. The washing is a ritual/compulsion they do to try to

make the obsession/thought of being contaminated, go away. Exposure therapy is

the way to get control over it. But, the kid has to be agreeable to doing the

therapy, or it can be a disaster. The books explain it much better. )

One thing you can try, but it takes time and effort (something we did because we

were in the same situation with not having a good therapist in-network). . .I

called many therapists who were listed in-network for us and asked them if they

used ERP. None even knew what that was. So, I called my insurance company and

told them that none of their listed providers were specialists with OCD, and

that we needed a specialist, and why (explaining we'd gone many years and to

many therapists, who used the wrong therapy, with no results). I told them I'd

found someone who used the right therapy, but he was out of network, so I needed

them to work on a " single case agreement " with him. He also had to be agreeable

to it, because they pay them as if in-network, which usually means they take a

little less in payment. It took some time, but we were able to get it worked

out. It was worth the effort. Just a suggestion.

Glad you are here, . You will find many here who understand what you are

going through. You are not alone.

BJ