Helping Kids with OCD Understand the Power of Exposures Does your child struggle with OCD? Do they have intrusive thoughts, intrusive feelings, unwanted images or bad thoughts that overwhelm them? Often the way to get OCD relief is the opposite of what people think. The only evidenced-based treatment approach is a type of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) called ERP (Exposure Response Prevention). In this video […]
Helping Kids Who Need to Take Medication for Anxiety or OCD Some kids will need to take Insulin to address their Diabetes, and some kids will need medication to help address their anxiety or OCD. But many kids and teens might feel nervous about the idea of medication. In this week’s Youtube video I talk about why some kids with anxiety or OCD need medication […]
Should You Tell Your Child They Have Anxiety or OCD? Many parents worry about telling their child they have anxiety or OCD. Some worry about potentially labeling their kids. Some worry that it will make their child feel different. Others worry about the stigma the child will face. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival episode, I dive deep into the pros and cons of telling […]
When OCD isn’t a Fear, But Rather a Feeling of Disgust Unfortunately many people believe, including some mental health professionals, that in order to have OCD you must have a core fear. Sadly, many people get misdiagnosed because people are searching up, down and all around for a fear. But OCD doesn’t have to be an intrusive thought, it can also be an intrusive feeling. […]
Helping Parents Handle the Grief that Comes with an Anxiety or OCD Diagnosis Most of us had a fantasy of what parenting would look like. It might have involved Pinterest crafts, bake sales and play dates. It probably didn’t include hyperventilating, panic and avoidance. None of us signed up to parent a child with anxiety or OCD and most of us weren’t prepared to do […]
Red Flags to Watch for When Working with an Anxiety or OCD Therapist Not all therapy is the same. Not all therapists are the same. And when it comes to anxiety and OCD you really want to get it right the first time. But many parents don’t know what to look for and some don’t even realize warning bells should be going off. I invited […]
Empowering Our Kids with Anxiety or OCD to Help Themselves We want the best for our kids. We want our kids to blossom and live a happy fulfilling life. But when our kids start to struggle with anxiety or OCD we might think that rosy picture is gone forever. We might think we have to “cure” anxiety or OCD for them to be well again. […]
Helping Teens with OCD with Lisa Coyne Most teens don’t want people to tell them what to do, especially their parents. So what are parents supposed to do when they desperately want to help their teen with OCD? Sometimes that can be tricky. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I invited Lisa Coyne, the co-author of the book, Stuff That’s Loud and the founder […]
Graphic Novel for Teens with OCD | Interview with Jason Adam Katzenstein Jason Adam Katzenstein gets it. He gets the struggle of what it feels like to have OCD and he gets the fear that comes along with trying to crush it. Luckily for the OCD community, Jason is a popular and gifted cartoonist who decided to take his personal and vulnerable story and […]
How to Help Our Kids Get OCD Relief It is so hard to watch as our kids struggle with OCD. As parents all we want is for our kids to get some OCD relief. But how are we supposed to do that? Especially if they don’t feel like they are ready to work on it? In this latest Youtube video, I talk about getting OCD […]
4 Simple Steps to Help Kids Self-Regulate with Lauren Spigelmyer Many of our kids have a hard time self-regulating. Just like other skills, we often have to teach our kids how to successfully handle their difficult emotions. This can be especially hard for kids that have anxiety and OCD. When you are a child who already struggles with hyperarousal, it doesn’t take much to throw […]
Handling Overwhelm When Parenting Kids with Anxiety or OCD It can get pretty overwhelming parenting a child with anxiety or OCD. But this is a marathon not a sprint and burn out isn’t an option. Overwhelm is an issue we all deal with throughout this journey. It is something that can creep up on you without any warning. So how do we as parents dial […]
What to Do When OCD Makes Your Child Doubt They Have OCD OCD loves to make people doubt. It loves to make people doubt so much that it can even make them doubt they have OCD. Even when they have been diagnosed. Even when they have been successful in treatment. Often this doubt comes when OCD is desperate, when the person has made some great […]
How to Help an Anxious Kid Wear a Mask Masks are a struggle for many kids, but if your child has anxiety or OCD it can be a much BIGGER struggle. This could be due to many reasons. Maybe they feel claustrophobic. Maybe they have sensory issues. Or maybe they have social anxiety and it seems embarrassing. Regardless of what the struggle is the end […]
Starting Online Schooling? How to Handle Difficult Behaviors with Wendy Bertagnole The pandemic has turned much of our world upside down. And now entering into the next school year, everything is different for our kids. If you are entering the new world of online schooling, you are not alone. Many of us are going into uncharted territory this school year. That is why I brought […]
