OCD

Introduction

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition characterized by obsessions and compulsions that interfere with daily life. Obsessions are thoughts, images, or ideas that won't go away, are unwanted, and are extremely distressing or worrying. Compulsions are behaviours that the child feels have to be done repeatedly to relieve anxiety.

The average age of onset is approximately 10 years old, although children as young as 5 or 6 may be diagnosed. In rare cases, children can start showing symptoms around age 3. As children grow, rituals and obsessive thoughts normally happen with a purpose and focus based on age.

You can be rest assured that at Skooc, you and your family are in good hands. 

Symptoms

Common obsessions among children with OCD include:

• Disturbing and unwanted thoughts, aggressive urges or behaviours

• Extreme worry about bad things occurring or doing something wrong or lying

• Feeling that things have to be "just right"

• A great need to know or remember things that may be minor

• Extreme attention to detail, preoccupation with order, symmetry, or exactness

• Worries about getting sick, or getting others sick, or throwing up

• Obsession with dirt or germs

Common compulsions among children with OCD include:

• Counting things over and over again

• Elaborate rituals that must be performed exactly the same way each time (i.e. a bedtime ritual)

• Following firm rules of order, such as putting on clothes in the very same order each day

• Excessive hand washing, showering or brushing teeth

• Excessively repeating sounds, words, or numbers to oneself

• Ordering or rearranging things in a particular or symmetrical way

• Checking and re-checking (repeated checking of whether the door is locked, the oven is off, or homework is done right)

• Repeatedly seeking reassurance from friends and family

• Hoarding objects

• Repeating sounds, words, numbers, or music to oneself, 

If you notice recurring instances of a few of these symptoms in your child, we at Skooc recommend a formal evaluation. 

Diagnosis

At Skooc, we help you better understand what your child is going through. A mental health professional such as a psychiatrist psychologist with special training will usually make a diagnosis of OCD using their medical judgment and experience. To be diagnosed with OCD, your child must have obsessions and compulsions that are continuous, severe, and disruptive. They must harm your child's day-to-day living.

Many healthcare professionals use a tool called a structured clinical interview to see if your symptoms are consistent with OCD. Structured clinical interviews contain standardized questions to ensure that each patient is interviewed in the same way. These questions usually ask about the nature, severity, and duration of symptoms. You may also be asked about your mood or other symptoms to make sure there aren't other psychological problems that need to be addressed.

Click here to take an assessment.

Next Steps and Intervention

Our team of professional psychologists at Skooc can help you and your child by providing the necessary interventions. 

• Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) -This helps a child identify and understand his or her fears. They also teach a child new ways to better resolve or reduce those fears.

• Behavioural Therapy - This helps the child and their family make pacts or rules to limit or change behaviours. An example is a child-modified exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP). ERP involves exposing children to the anxiety that is provoked by their obsessions and then preventing the use of rituals to reduce their anxiety. This cycle of exposure and response prevention is repeated until children are no longer troubled by their obsessions and/or compulsions.

• Family therapy. Parents play a vital role in any treatment process. One example is setting a maximum number of times a compulsive hand-washer may wash his or her hands. A child's school may also be included in care.