Re: Newbie here...

December 28, 2008

Trust your gut. If you feel that good therapy would do the trick if

given a chance, keep fighting for that first. As you say, nothing

wrong with meds when necessary. But there's general consensus that the

longer lasting solution comes from re-training the mind, with or

without the help of meds to get you there, so even with meds, you'd

still need to search for a good therapist.

Listen to your heart on this. Everything in your post says you already

know the answer you want to hear - that you just need a chorus to

support you.

I'm not in SC, but if you have a supportive school system, you may be

able to ask them to ask another parent who may have an OCD or ADHD kid

for the name of a therapist they use. Then the school could pass that

name on to you (for confidentiality, they wouldn't be able to put you

directly in touch with that parent).

Believe in yourself...

>

> This makes me question

> whether meds are really necessary. Please help! I think what we

> really need is a good therapist! I just can't find one and asking if

> they do CBT and ERT isn't enough. Anyone is SC? Thanks!

>

December 28, 2008

Hi, . Welcome.

It took quite a bit to find a therapist, who truly understands OCD and

knows how to treat it successfully, for us.

I did a lot of phone interviews, asking specific, point blank

questions, until I found someone who KNEW. Someone who had treated

others successfully. It took a while, but was worth the effort.

I would encourage you to do that too. For one, you don't end up

dragging your kid around, which can turn them off of therapy

altogether. For two, you save your precious appointment allotment,

that they insurance companies allow. You also save money and time,

since it costs nothing to talk to them over the phone, and you don't

have to make the trip to their office.

Many will give you a consultation over the phone. I had a few

receptionists tell me that they would prefer I make an appointment,

but I explained my reasons for wanting to talk to them over the phone

first, so was a bit " politely " insistent. I was fine with waiting for

the therapist to call me back at their leisure.

You can sort out a lot of them that way. The dead give away that I

found was asking if they did ERP. Many asked me what that was. Well,

if you have to tell them, then they obviously don't know what it is.

Many also said they did CBT, but unless they know how to apply it

specificially to OCD, it won't help. Because CBT can be used for

other things too.

I can tell you that once our son got into a therapist that understand

ERP(exposure and response prevention), he made wonderful strides in

letting go of his rituals. He also had contamination issues, but they

don't seem to bother him anymore, after using ERP on them.

By the 4th appointment, he was working, using ERP. The first two

appointments were for information gathering, the third he made his

hierarchy list, and the 4th, he got to work.

Some places to suggest to try to find a good therapist is,

ocfoundation.org. They have therapists listed by state. Just because

they are there does not mean they understand or use the correct

therapy though, so you should interview them. But, there are some

good people listed there too. You just have to sort through them.

Another place to try is anxiety clinics. They often understand and

treat OCD, because it is an anxiety disorder.

I even called and emailed support groups in my state, and asked for

recommendations. They were very helpful.

If you find someone that knows OCD, but is not taking patients, ask

for recommendations. Maybe they can steer you to a colleague that

also knows OCD.

Treatment should always be the first line of treatment. So,I think

you are right that you should try that first. For some, if the

anxiety is too high, they cannot do the therapy though. It is too

anxiety producing, on top of what they are already dealing with, so

sometimes meds are brought in to bring the anxiety down. That was the

case with our son. He also had GAD. But, it's hard to know until you

give it a good shot, with a good therapist.

What helped me in interviewing them, was to know exactly how ERP

worked, so I knew how to question them and tell if they understood it.

Best of luck in finding someone who can help. Hopefully, someone in

here might be able to suggest someone in SC too.

Glad you found us and are here. )

BJ

>

> My 7 year old son has OCD. He is very germaphobic and washes his

> hands and other body parts frequently. He cries for help and it

> breaks my heart. I've done a lot of reading on OCD and we even read a

> couple of the books together (Up and Down the Worry Hill and What To

> Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck). We've gone to several different

> people for CBT and ERT and they say they do it but then seem to just

> talk most of the time if not all the time. We just moved to SC and

> his OCD is worse when we're at home. I think it's the house although

> it could be DH or even me. Do we stress him out? The past couple

> days we have actually left the house! He's better when we're not

> home. My DH tries to convince him things are clean. I walk a fine

> line between trying not to enable him and trying not to make his

> anxiety worse. The social worker and psychologist are pushing meds.

> I'd be okay with that if I really felt CBT and ERT were given a real

> good try first. My son is very willing. His symptoms aren't too bad

> from what I've read. He has also been diagnosed with generalized

> anxiety and ADHD. They want to medicate him for that too. Since he

> started the new school he's been improving. This makes me question

> whether meds are really necessary. Please help! I think what we

> really need is a good therapist! I just can't find one and asking if

> they do CBT and ERT isn't enough. Anyone is SC? Thanks!

>

December 28, 2008

You've gotten some great responses . I just wanted to welcome you to the

group.

~~Kathy

Courage is not living without fear.

Courage is being scared to death and doing the right thing anyway.

-Chae

December 28, 2008

Many also said they did CBT, but unless they know how to apply

it specificially to OCD, it won't help. Because CBT can be used for

other things too.

Just want to second what BJ said above. CBT (Cognitive Behavioral

Therapy) needs to be specific to OCD, so basically you do need someone

who is experienced with OCD. You'll hear from therapists they do CBT -

as BJ said, used for other things too, even depression - so ask about

ERP (Exposure & Response Prevention). Some parents have been lucky

enough to find a therapist willing to learn about OCD treatment, and

that has actually worked out for some, keeps mom/dad from being

the " therapist. "

December 28, 2008

This is so right on! Â I have found that many therapists says that they use

cognitive behavior therapy now, but that doesn't mean it's the kind that works

for OCD; saying that they do ERP (Exposure and response prevention) makes the

difference. Â I wasted the entire summer and at least $1,000 on a therapist who

claimed to do CBT, but was doing just the opposite. Â She basically listened to

my daughter telling her sad stories about how things are for her and spent the

time telling her that she understood, but she didn't spend one minute on

teaching my daughter how to beat back her fears or how to deal better with other

children in social situations. Â I finally lost it when for an entire session

she listened to my daughter complaining how unfair I had been to make her go to

a certain restaurant that she had fears about, and then asked to see me at the

end of the session alone because she wanted me to see that I had to " understand "

what my daughter had been feeling. Â She never bothered to find out that the

restaurant was chosen by my dad because it was exactly half way between our two

houses and that although my daughter cried and insulted me about taking her to

it while we drove there, my daughter calmed down by the time we got there,

relaxed as soon as we sat down and had a happy meal. Â Driving home, my daughter

agreed with me that her anticipatory anxiety is what is so difficult, but once

we face her fears, the actual reality is not so scary. Â W

hen I told the therapist this, she still couldn't understand why it was

important to expose my daughter to what she feared, and that when I don't force

the issue, anything my daughter avoids snowballs into something that she becomes

horribly afraid of. Â That was the end of it. Â As we drove home, I explained to

my daughter why this was not the therapist for us. Â My daughter is wise beyond

her nine years, and she said that while it felt great to have a therapist who

always says, " I understand " and doesn't push her to do anything she fears, it

isn't helping her OCD at all. Â I finally found a therapist from someone here on

this list, and it is quite different. Â This therapist believes in ERP and knows

just how to treat OCD. Â She actually is part of a hospital childhood OCD unit.

Re: Newbie here...

Hi, . Welcome.

It took quite a bit to find a therapist, who truly understands OCD and

knows how to treat it successfully, for us.

I did a lot of phone interviews, asking specific, point blank

questions, until I found someone who KNEW. Someone who had treated

others successfully. It took a while, but was worth the effort.

I would encourage you to do that too. For one, you don't

end up

dragging your kid around, which can turn them off of therapy

altogether. For two, you save your precious appointment allotment,

that they insurance companies allow. You also save money and time,

since it costs nothing to talk to them over the phone, and you don't

have to make the trip to their office.

Many will give you a consultation over the phone. I had a few

receptionists tell me that they would prefer I make an appointment,

but I explained my reasons for wanting to talk to them over the phone

first, so was a bit " politely " insistent. I was fine with waiting for

the therapist to call me back at their leisure.

You can sort out a lot of them that way. The dead give away that I

found was asking if they did ERP. Many asked me what that was. Well,

if you have to tell them, then they obviously don't know what it is.

Many also said they did CBT, but unless they know how to apply it

specificially to OCD, it won't help. Because CBT can be used for

other things too.

I can tell you that once our son got into a therapist that understand

ERP(exposure and response prevention), he made wonderful strides in

letting go of his rituals. He also had contamination issues, but they

don't seem to bother him anymore, after using ERP on them.

By the 4th appointment, he was working, using ERP. The first two

appointments were for information gathering, the third he made his

h

ierarchy list, and the 4th, he got to work.

Some places to suggest to try to find a good therapist is,

ocfoundation.org. They have therapists listed by state. Just because

they are there does not mean they understand or use the correct

therapy though, so you should interview them. But, there are some

good people listed there too. You just have to sort through them.

Another place to try is anxiety clinics. They often understand and

treat OCD, because it is an anxiety disorder.

I even called and emailed support groups in my state, and asked for

recommendations. They were very helpful.

If you find someone that knows OCD, but is not taking patients, ask

for recommendations. Maybe they can steer you to a colleague that

also knows OCD.

Treatment should always be the first line of treatment. So,I think

you are right that you should try that first. For some, if the

anxiety is too high, they cannot do the therapy though. It is too

anxiety producing, on top of what they are already dealing with, so

sometimes meds are brought in to bring the anxiety down. That was the

case with our son. He also had GAD. But, it's hard to know until you

give it a good shot, with a good therapist.

What helped me in interviewing them, was to know exactly how ERP

worked, so I knew how to question them and tell if they understood it.

Best of luck in finding someone who can help. 20Hopefully, someone in