Re: Still No Therapist

[Guest guest]

Hi April,

If you can find someone who does CBT and is willing to learn how to

do ERP, or has an understanding of it you might want to consider

them. I have been told demand affects supply, there are not enough

people affected looking for this service, and it can be a very

difficult disorder to treat. So, it's not something many

psychologists get training in. You might try the universities in

your area if you haven't already. Is there an Anxiety Disorders

Centre in your area?

This can be one of the hardest things for many families. Trying to

secure qualified care. I hope your last call pans out for you April!

You're right on the puppy too!

Hugs!

Barb

>

> Well I just got off the phone with one of my ever hopeful therapist

for

> children. Of Course bad news, one they have a waiting list at the

> moment, two nobody in the group has ever even heard of ERP

therapy.

> Well I have one more phone I am waiting on, I hope it will bring me

> better luck.

> I don't understand why there are no therapist in my area. I live

> pretty close to Cleveland Ohio which has 2 of the best Hospitals in

the

> world, Rainbow Babies and Children and The Cleveland Clinic. No

> therapist that deal with OCD in children.

> I also want to Thank everyone that has e-mailed me with their

insite on

> a puppy for my daughter. I have been so busy it's hard to keep up,

and

> then I am thinking about adding a puppy to it. I must be out of my

> mind!

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, April. Try not to let it get you discouraged, although it can be

trying and discouraging. I looked for three months, making calls

pretty much every day. Hopefully it won't be that difficult for you.

We drive 70-80 miles, one way, in horrible traffic, which sometimes

puts us on the road for 6-7 hours for the day. The office we go to

also does not take insurance. Or didn't until recently, but still

doesn't take ours. We are trying to get the office and our insurance

to work out a single case agreement (fingers crossed), so we can pay a

smaller co-pay, because we cleaned out our savings last year meeting

our deductible and paying our portion, which turned out about half,

after the deductible was met. In spite of all of that, it has been

worth it.

I found, as I searched, I had to change my idea of what we were

" willing " to do. I started out trying to find someone close to where

we live, that took our insurance. The sad fact is, few seem to be

that lucky. I kept broadening the area of where we were willing to

commute to. But, it had to be within our realm of what we were

capable of doing too.

There are books available that can walk you through ERP too, April, if

you feel you would like to try it at home. I can't remember if I

mentioned them to you. Two books that I know of are:

Talking Back to OCD by March

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

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Lee, Ph.D. Fitzgibbons and Cherry

Pedrick

I'm sure there are other books too, these are just some I'm familiar

with so they come to mind. We tried working with the books, as I was

still searching for a therapist, and found that Josh came up with

stuff not in the books. I had so many questions that needed

answering. But, I'm sure there are some that the books have helped

too. I know Beth has mentioned one that has helped her daughter Kate

immensely. (Sorry, Beth, I can't seem to remember the name of it

although you've mentioned it a few times. The brain keep losing

things as I get older).

It is horrible that there are not more trained to help our kids who

suffer. At least one in a hundred have OCD, it needs more attention.

<sigh> Maybe if it got the attention it deserves there would be more

advancements made in treatment.

BJ

>

> Well I just got off the phone with one of my ever hopeful therapist for

> children. Of Course bad news, one they have a waiting list at the

> moment, two nobody in the group has ever even heard of ERP therapy.

> Well I have one more phone I am waiting on, I hope it will bring me

> better luck.

> I don't understand why there are no therapist in my area. I live

> pretty close to Cleveland Ohio which has 2 of the best Hospitals in the

> world, Rainbow Babies and Children and The Cleveland Clinic. No

> therapist that deal with OCD in children.

> I also want to Thank everyone that has e-mailed me with their insite on

> a puppy for my daughter. I have been so busy it's hard to keep up, and

> then I am thinking about adding a puppy to it. I must be out of my

> mind!

>

[Guest guest]

Hi BJ,

Wow 6-7 hours, that is a drive, but I would be willing to drive that as

well. It makes it really hard I have 2 smaller children that would also

need to come along, we don't have to many people available to watch the

them.

Thanks for the book ideas, I am sure I will order those. Someone else ( I

am trying to remember everyones name in the group, I am sure I will get it

eventually) recommended: What to do when Your Brain Gets Stuck, I ordered

that one from Amazon. It came yesterday and we started reading it together.

How long has Josh had OCD?

Do you know if there is any research being done for OCD?

Thanks,

April

_____

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of svdbyhislove

Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 1:12 AM

To:

Subject: Re: Still No Therapist

Hi, April. Try not to let it get you discouraged, although it can be

trying and discouraging. I looked for three months, making calls

pretty much every day. Hopefully it won't be that difficult for you.

We drive 70-80 miles, one way, in horrible traffic, which sometimes

puts us on the road for 6-7 hours for the day. The office we go to

also does not take insurance. Or didn't until recently, but still

doesn't take ours. We are trying to get the office and our insurance

to work out a single case agreement (fingers crossed), so we can pay a

smaller co-pay, because we cleaned out our savings last year meeting

our deductible and paying our portion, which turned out about half,

after the deductible was met. In spite of all of that, it has been

worth it.

I found, as I searched, I had to change my idea of what we were

" willing " to do. I started out trying to find someone close to where

we live, that took our insurance. The sad fact is, few seem to be

that lucky. I kept broadening the area of where we were willing to

commute to. But, it had to be within our realm of what we were

capable of doing too.

There are books available that can walk you through ERP too, April, if

you feel you would like to try it at home. I can't remember if I

mentioned them to you. Two books that I know of are:

Talking Back to OCD by March

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

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder by Lee, Ph.D. Fitzgibbons and Cherry

Pedrick

I'm sure there are other books too, these are just some I'm familiar

with so they come to mind. We tried working with the books, as I was

still searching for a therapist, and found that Josh came up with

stuff not in the books. I had so many questions that needed

answering. But, I'm sure there are some that the books have helped

too. I know Beth has mentioned one that has helped her daughter Kate

immensely. (Sorry, Beth, I can't seem to remember the name of it

although you've mentioned it a few times. The brain keep losing

things as I get older).

It is horrible that there are not more trained to help our kids who

suffer. At least one in a hundred have OCD, it needs more attention.

<sigh> Maybe if it got the attention it deserves there would be more

advancements made in treatment.

BJ

>

> Well I just got off the phone with one of my ever hopeful therapist for

> children. Of Course bad news, one they have a waiting list at the

> moment, two nobody in the group has ever even heard of ERP therapy.

> Well I have one more phone I am waiting on, I hope it will bring me

> better luck.

> I don't understand why there are no therapist in my area. I live

> pretty close to Cleveland Ohio which has 2 of the best Hospitals in the

> world, Rainbow Babies and Children and The Cleveland Clinic. No

> therapist that deal with OCD in children.

> I also want to Thank everyone that has e-mailed me with their insite on

> a puppy for my daughter. I have been so busy it's hard to keep up, and

> then I am thinking about adding a puppy to it. I must be out of my

> mind!

>

[Guest guest]

Hey April,

Thought I'd jump in and answer your question about research. If

you go to the OC Foundation website and click on the Research

Partipants Sought link, it lists some of the research going on.

There's probably other research going on besides what is listed

there as well. I'm not sure any of it will provide answers anytime

soon, though. Who knows?

How are things going with your daughter? Is she eating better?

Take care

Connie

>

> Hi BJ,

>

> Wow 6-7 hours, that is a drive, but I would be willing to drive

that as

> well. It makes it really hard I have 2 smaller children that

would also

> need to come along, we don't have to many people available to

watch the

> them.

>

> Thanks for the book ideas, I am sure I will order those. Someone

else ( I

> am trying to remember everyones name in the group, I am sure I

will get it

> eventually) recommended: What to do when Your Brain Gets Stuck, I

ordered

> that one from Amazon. It came yesterday and we started reading it

together.

>

>

> How long has Josh had OCD?

>

> Do you know if there is any research being done for OCD?

>

> Thanks,

>

> April

[Guest guest]

We did that drive once a week, last year, April. lol We homeschool,

so on those days, we just carschooled. We made it work, because we

had to. We are down to once a month now and that is much easier.

Josh is an only child so that made it a bit easier for us.

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh. .that's the book Beth was talking about. My son is

my memory anymore. lol

Josh has always had OCD. Looking back, I can see where it was in his

life even when he was VERY young. I didn't know what I was seeing

back then though. My husband's whole family has it, but they are

undiagnosed. Now that I know what it is, and how it manifests itself,

I have no doubts about them, as I see them hoarding and being

germaphobic (I know it is not a real word, but fits so well <grin>).

I'm sure my father in law has Tourette's too. He does the shoulder

shrugging, face grimacing, and eye blinking.

Josh's OCD flared bad the first time when he was younger, around 8.

We lived in a horrible existence for a couple of years before we found

out what was going on. He went on meds the first time at 10. It

helped so much. He went off of meds two years ago, but relapsed

really hard in January of 2007. He went back on meds immediately, and

I made a conscious decision to become more informed and determined to

find therapy that worked. Everything else in our lives took the back

seat, while I searched for answers and help. It's been worth the work

it took to acquire the help he needed.

That is a good question (research). I'm assuming there is. I've

never been able to go to the OCD conferences, but some in here have.

I just think that if it got more attention, it would get more funding,

and that would benefit those with OCD.

Glad you are here, April.

BJ

> >

> > Well I just got off the phone with one of my ever hopeful

therapist for

> > children. Of Course bad news, one they have a waiting list at the

> > moment, two nobody in the group has ever even heard of ERP therapy.

> > Well I have one more phone I am waiting on, I hope it will bring me

> > better luck.

> > I don't understand why there are no therapist in my area. I live

> > pretty close to Cleveland Ohio which has 2 of the best Hospitals

in the

> > world, Rainbow Babies and Children and The Cleveland Clinic. No

> > therapist that deal with OCD in children.

> > I also want to Thank everyone that has e-mailed me with their

insite on

> > a puppy for my daughter. I have been so busy it's hard to keep up,

and

> > then I am thinking about adding a puppy to it. I must be out of my

> > mind!

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Connie,

Thank you and I will take a look at that website. I think there needs to be

more research as well as funding for it. With medical illnesses people do

walks and all kinds of fund raisers for research, I will look into what I

can so. I was going to say my daughter was doing better, but as I am

writing this she is asking me if her pizza is poisoned, and of course she is

picking at it.

April

_____

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of Connie

Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 2:38 PM

To:

Subject: Re: Still No Therapist

Hey April,

Thought I'd jump in and answer your question about research. If

you go to the OC Foundation website and click on the Research

Partipants Sought link, it lists some of the research going on.

There's probably other research going on besides what is listed

there as well. I'm not sure any of it will provide answers anytime

soon, though. Who knows?

How are things going with your daughter? Is she eating better?

Take care

Connie

>

> Hi BJ,

>

> Wow 6-7 hours, that is a drive, but I would be willing to drive

that as

> well. It makes it really hard I have 2 smaller children that

would also

> need to come along, we don't have to many people available to

watch the

> them.

>

> Thanks for the book ideas, I am sure I will order those. Someone

else ( I

> am trying to remember everyones name in the group, I am sure I

will get it

> eventually) recommended: What to do when Your Brain Gets Stuck, I

ordered

> that one from Amazon. It came yesterday and we started reading it

together.

>

>

> How long has Josh had OCD?

>

> Do you know if there is any research being done for OCD?

>

> Thanks,

>

> April

[Guest guest]

BJ,

I agree with how you looked back at your son and the symptoms he had and you

just didn't know what it was. I can now look back at some of my daughters

behaviors and see symptoms. From the day I brought her home from the

hospital until she was about 4-5 months old she screamed, at that point I

thought she had a really bad case of colic, but I wonder if she was born

with worries and screamed to let it out? She never really laughed out loud

as a baby, and had meltdowns very young. I can see now the difference

between a temper tantrum and a meltdown. My 3 year old has temper tantrums,

all I have to do is act goofy or tickle her and her starts laughing, snaps

right out of it. When Madison had her meltdowns I felt like it was a

different kid, she did not seem to be aware of anything around her and they

would last up to an hour. Who knows, I am trying to figure out as much as I

can. We don't have any family history of OCD, that I know of.

I am going to try and see if there is research and funding out there for

OCD. Something needs to be done for these kids, to watch helplessly as our

children are terrified is heartbreaking.

April

_____

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of svdbyhislove

Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 2:44 PM

To:

Subject: Re: Still No Therapist

We did that drive once a week, last year, April. lol We homeschool,

so on those days, we just carschooled. We made it work, because we

had to. We are down to once a month now and that is much easier.

Josh is an only child so that made it a bit easier for us.

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh. .that's the book Beth was talking about. My son is

my memory anymore. lol

Josh has always had OCD. Looking back, I can see where it was in his

life even when he was VERY young. I didn't know what I was seeing

back then though. My husband's whole family has it, but they are

undiagnosed. Now that I know what it is, and how it manifests itself,

I have no doubts about them, as I see them hoarding and being

germaphobic (I know it is not a real word, but fits so well <grin>).

I'm sure my father in law has Tourette's too. He does the shoulder

shrugging, face grimacing, and eye blinking.

Josh's OCD flared bad the first time when he was younger, around 8.

We lived in a horrible existence for a couple of years before we found

out what was going on. He went on meds the first time at 10. It

helped so much. He went off of meds two years ago, but relapsed

really hard in January of 2007. He went back on meds immediately, and

I made a conscious decision to become more informed and determined to

find therapy that worked. Everything else in our lives took the back

seat, while I searched for answers and help. It's been worth the work

it took to acquire the help he needed.

That is a good question (research). I'm assuming there is. I've

never been able to go to the OCD conferences, but some in here have.

I just think that if it got more attention, it would get more funding,

and that would benefit those with OCD.

Glad you are here, April.

BJ

> >

> > Well I just got off the phone with one of my ever hopeful

therapist for

> > children. Of Course bad news, one they have a waiting list at the

> > moment, two nobody in the group has ever even heard of ERP therapy.

> > Well I have one more phone I am waiting on, I hope it will bring me

> > better luck.

> > I don't understand why there are no therapist in my area. I live

> > pretty close to Cleveland Ohio which has 2 of the best Hospitals

in the

> > world, Rainbow Babies and Children and The Cleveland Clinic. No

> > therapist that deal with OCD in children.

> > I also want to Thank everyone that has e-mailed me with their

insite on

> > a puppy for my daughter. I have been so busy it's hard to keep up,

and

> > then I am thinking about adding a puppy to it. I must be out of my

> > mind!

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I had the same feelings and experience with my daughter. I just knew something

was wrong. I knew it wasn't colic. I think a mother can sense these things.

April Bell wrote:

BJ,

I agree with how you looked back at your son and the symptoms he had and you

just didn't know what it was. I can now look back at some of my daughters

behaviors and see symptoms. From the day I brought her home from the

hospital until she was about 4-5 months old she screamed, at that point I

thought she had a really bad case of colic, but I wonder if she was born

with worries and screamed to let it out? She never really laughed out loud

as a baby, and had meltdowns very young. I can see now the difference

between a temper tantrum and a meltdown. My 3 year old has temper tantrums,

all I have to do is act goofy or tickle her and her starts laughing, snaps

right out of it. When Madison had her meltdowns I felt like it was a

different kid, she did not seem to be aware of anything around her and they

would last up to an hour. Who knows, I am trying to figure out as much as I

can. We don't have any family history of OCD, that I know of.

I am going to try and see if there is research and funding out there for

OCD. Something needs to be done for these kids, to watch helplessly as our

children are terrified is heartbreaking.

April

_____

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of svdbyhislove

Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2008 2:44 PM

To:

Subject: Re: Still No Therapist

We did that drive once a week, last year, April. lol We homeschool,

so on those days, we just carschooled. We made it work, because we

had to. We are down to once a month now and that is much easier.

Josh is an only child so that made it a bit easier for us.

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh. .that's the book Beth was talking about. My son is

my memory anymore. lol

Josh has always had OCD. Looking back, I can see where it was in his

life even when he was VERY young. I didn't know what I was seeing

back then though. My husband's whole family has it, but they are

undiagnosed. Now that I know what it is, and how it manifests itself,

I have no doubts about them, as I see them hoarding and being

germaphobic (I know it is not a real word, but fits so well <grin>).

I'm sure my father in law has Tourette's too. He does the shoulder

shrugging, face grimacing, and eye blinking.

Josh's OCD flared bad the first time when he was younger, around 8.

We lived in a horrible existence for a couple of years before we found

out what was going on. He went on meds the first time at 10. It

helped so much. He went off of meds two years ago, but relapsed

really hard in January of 2007. He went back on meds immediately, and

I made a conscious decision to become more informed and determined to

find therapy that worked. Everything else in our lives took the back

seat, while I searched for answers and help. It's been worth the work

it took to acquire the help he needed.

That is a good question (research). I'm assuming there is. I've

never been able to go to the OCD conferences, but some in here have.

I just think that if it got more attention, it would get more funding,

and that would benefit those with OCD.

Glad you are here, April.

BJ

> >

> > Well I just got off the phone with one of my ever hopeful

therapist for

> > children. Of Course bad news, one they have a waiting list at the

> > moment, two nobody in the group has ever even heard of ERP therapy.

> > Well I have one more phone I am waiting on, I hope it will bring me

> > better luck.

> > I don't understand why there are no therapist in my area. I live

> > pretty close to Cleveland Ohio which has 2 of the best Hospitals

in the

> > world, Rainbow Babies and Children and The Cleveland Clinic. No

> > therapist that deal with OCD in children.

> > I also want to Thank everyone that has e-mailed me with their

insite on

> > a puppy for my daughter. I have been so busy it's hard to keep up,

and

> > then I am thinking about adding a puppy to it. I must be out of my

> > mind!

> >

>

>

>

>

>

>