PSP 186: Helping Teens with OCD with Lisa Coyne

PSP 186: Helping Teens with OCD with Lisa Coyne

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 […]

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PSP 185: Graphic Novel to Help Teens with OCD | Interview with Jason Adam Katzenstein

PSP 185: Graphic Novel to Help Teens with OCD | Interview with Jason Adam Katzenstein

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 […]

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How to Help Our Kids Get OCD Relief

How to Help Our Kids Get OCD Relief

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 […]

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PSP 183: Handling Overwhelm When Parenting Kids with Anxiety or OCD

PSP 183: Handling Overwhelm When Parenting Kids with Anxiety or OCD

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 […]

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What to Do When OCD Makes Your Child Doubt They Have OCD

What to Do When OCD Makes Your Child Doubt They Have OCD

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 […]

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PSP 180: Important Highlights from the 2020 OCD Conference for Parents

PSP 180: Important Highlights from the 2020 OCD Conference for Parents

Important Highlights from the 2020 OCD Conference for Parents  The International OCD Foundation’s annual conference was cancelled along with pretty much everything else in 2020. But the online version did not disappoint, offering some great takeaways for parents raising kids with OCD. In the latest episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast I highlight some areas parents need to be updated on, if they haven’t […]

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PSP 179: Understanding Magical Thinking in OCD

PSP 179: Understanding Magical Thinking in OCD

Understanding Magical Thinking in OCD OCD symptoms and behaviors can look vastly different in each person. You might have a child who has compulsions centered around contamination while another person might have a child with compulsions around magical thinking. You might have a child with both! I always tell parents that you want to be well versed in all the many ways OCD can pop […]

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What to Do When OCD Makes a Child Feel Like they are Lying

What to Do When OCD Makes a Child Feel Like they are Lying

What to Do When OCD Makes a Child Feel Like they are Lying Many kids with Moral OCD worry that they might be lying. This type of intrusive thought often gets missed because the compulsions around the thought are so subtle. I want pizza… I think. I had a good day… I guess. The very act of talking, making decisions and answering questions becomes a […]

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What Effective OCD Treatment Looks Like (and Doesn’t Look Like).

What Effective OCD Treatment Looks Like (and Doesn’t Look Like).

What Effective OCD Treatment Looks Like (and Doesn’t Look Like). Getting OCD treatment from a general therapist who doesn’t specialize in OCD is like going to your primary care physician to get a heart transplant. Proper OCD treatment requires an understanding of evidenced-based treatment approaches, most of which are not taught in graduate school (don’t get me on that soap box). If you suffer with […]

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Helping Kids with Intrusive Thoughts

Helping Kids with Intrusive Thoughts

Helping Kids with Intrusive Thoughts We all have intrusive thoughts, but when you have OCD those thoughts get stuck in your head. They get loud and constant and are hard to ignore. So how is someone meant to get any relief from OCD and these thoughts? It is often the opposite of what you may think. OCD wants you to argue with it. It wants […]

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What is HOCD and Why is it Never Talked About?

What is HOCD and Why is it Never Talked About?

What is HOCD and Why is it Never Talked About? “Can I private message you.” Is normally how it starts. “My child has an issue that I am nervous to discuss in front of others.” More often than not, they want to talk about HOCD, also known as Homosexual OCD. I prefer the newer term, Sexual Orientation OCD, as it is more encompassing and much […]

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Things Kids Can Do to Prevent OCD from Getting Worse

Things Kids Can Do to Prevent OCD from Getting Worse

Things Kids Can Do to Prevent OCD from Getting Worse When our kids have OCD it can feel like we are losing control. New compulsions are popping up all the time and all our efforts can seem futile. That is why it is so important to give our kids the tools to help themselves. Educating them on what OCD is and how it works is […]

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How to Help Kids with OCD Checking Behavior

How to Help Kids with OCD Checking Behavior

How to Help Kids with OCD Checking Behavior It starts off with a little nag. Did you do it? Are you sure? The uncertainty grows. The nagging impulse grows. Check! Check again! Until eventually the child caves and checks. But OCD checking behavior is a trap. Mental quick sand, I like to call it. It catches people in a vicious loop that they can’t get […]

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PSP 168: How to Spot OCD Symptoms in Teens

PSP 168: How to Spot OCD Symptoms in Teens

How to Spot OCD Symptoms in Teens Most kids with OCD go into adulthood without a diagnosis. This means years of feeling different. Years of feeling ashamed. And years of little to no support. If parents and therapists can learn how to spot OCD symptoms in teens, we could help them save years of unnecessary pain and suffering. OCD requires a very specific therapeutic approach […]

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PSP 167: What is Emotional Contamination OCD?

PSP 167: What is Emotional Contamination OCD?

What is Emotional Contamination OCD? OCD can wreak havoc in any family. But one sub-type of OCD that can be particularly painful is emotional contamination OCD. Emotional contamination issues can hurt family relationships and confuse parents. Sadly most people, even mental health professionals, understand very little about how OCD can manifest. OCD isn’t just about germs and constant cleaning. OCD has many themes and sub-types. […]

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