Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Resource Center

Last updated June 2023

About

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is seen in as many as 1-3% of children and adolescents.

OCD is characterized by recurrent intense obsessions and/or compulsions that cause severe distress and interfere with day-to-day functioning.

Obsessions are repetitive and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are unwanted and cause marked anxiety or distress.

Frequently, they are unrealistic or irrational. They are not simply excessive worries about real-life problems or preoccupations.

Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or rituals (like hand washing, keeping things in order, checking something over and over) or mental acts (like counting or repeating words silently).

In OCD, the obsessions or compulsions cause significant anxiety or distress, or they interfere with the child's normal routine, academic functioning, social activities, or relationships.

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Choose a topic:

FAQs

• What causes OCD?
• How common is OCD?
• Does OCD run in families?
• How is OCD treated?
• If medication is used, what type of medication is most commonly prescribed to kids and teens with OCD?
• Do children and teens with OCD get better?
• What is Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)?
• What is Pediatric AutoimmuneNeuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS)?
• What other disorders do kids and teens with OCD often have?

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Facts for Families

• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Children and Adolescents
• The Anxious Child
• PANS and PANDAS: Sudden Onset of OCD Symptoms
• Psychiatric Medications for Children and Adolescents Part I: How Medications Are Used
• Psychiatric Medications for Children and Adolescents Part II: Types of Medications
• Tic Disorders
• When to Seek Help for Your Child
• Where to Find Help for Your Child
• Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents: Definition
• Psychotherapy for Children and Adolescents: Different Types

 

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Video Clips

Introducing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
A short cartoon video explaining OCD for older kids, teens, and their families from the perspective of a young girl with OCD

Ask the Expert: CBT for OCD
A 1-minute explanation of treatments for OCD for patients and their families, by Columbia University Medical Center OCD expert, Dr. Blair Simpson

Treatment for Children with OCD
A 3-minute summary of one teenager’s experience with OCD and the treatment he received

OCD Strategies with Dr. Rynn of Columbia University on the Conquer Worry Radio Show, Oct. 19, 2014
A 45-minute audio recording for the public on the basics of anxiety and OCD in children and adolescents

Keynote for the FIU Center for Children and Families
A 75-minute presentation by John Piacentini, PhD, on the basics of OCD for professionals and families who want to have a more advanced understanding of the disorder

Dr. Eli Lebowitz of the Yale Child Study Center explains how to create effective exposures for professionals who treat OCD in a 15-minute video

Dr. Michael Jeneke provides brief explanation of PANS/PANDAS for physicians

A 20-minute video briefly describing PANS/PANDAS for professionals

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Clinical Research

• Anxiety and Depression Association of America OCD Clinical Practice Review
• PANDAS-Questions and Answers

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Rating Scales:

• CYBOCS: Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale
• DYBOCS: Dimensional Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale
• YGTSS: Yale Global Tic Severity Scale
• USP—SPS: University of San Paolo Sensory Phenomena Scale
• FAS: Family Accommodation Scale

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Research and Training

• Davis, L. 13.4 A Dimensional Perspective on the Genetics of OCD. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Supplement 2022; 61: S297.
• Vasa, R. 14.2 Differentiating OCD From Core Features of ASD. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Supplement 2022; 61: S20-S21.
• Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: Parent-based treatment as efficacious as cognitive behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety: A randomized noninferiority study of supportive parenting for anxious childhood emotions. March 2019 - Volume 58, Issue 3, pp 307-388
• Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: Assessment and Management of Treatment-Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Children April 2015 - Volume 54 - Issue 4 - pp 251-262
• Martin E Franklin et al., Obsessive-compulsive and tic-related disorders. Child And Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 2012
• Geller DA, March J. Practice parameter for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2012; 51: 98-113.
• March JS (1995), Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for children and adolescents with OCD: a review and recommendations for treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 34:7-18
• Tic-Related Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Phenomenology and Treatment Outcome in the Pediatric OCD Treatment Study II
• Telephone Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Non-inferiority Trial
• Case Study: A New Infection-Triggered, Autoimmune Subtype of Pediatric OCD and Tourette's Syndrome
• Early Childhood OCD: Preliminary Findings From a Family-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Approach
• Therapist-Guided, Internet-Delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial
• Cognitive-behavior therapy, sertraline, and their combination for children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder: the Pediatric OCD Treatment Study (POTS) randomized controlled trial.
• IACAPAP Online Textbook of Child and Adolescent Mental Health: OCD chapter
• Clinical Management of Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome

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Books

• Cognitive-behavior Therapy for Children and Adolescents
• Treating Childhood and Adolescent Anxiety: A Guide for Caregivers
• The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing: The Experience and Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
• Up and Down the Worry Hill: A Children's Book about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and its Treatment
• What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming OCD (What-to-Do Guides for Kids)
• The Thought that Counts: A Firsthand Account of One Teenager's Experience with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Adolescent Mental Health Initiative)
• Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Powerful, Practical Program for Parents of Children and Adolescents
• What to do when your Child has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Strategies and Solutions
• Talking Back to OCD: The Program That Helps Kids and Teens Say "No Way" -- and Parents Say "Way to Go"
• Take Control of OCD: The Ultimate Guide for Kids with OCD

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Getting Help

Find a child and adolescent psychiatrist in your area

Related Websites

• International OCD Foundation
• Do We Have To Shake Hands? OCD Organizations and Support Groups
• Beyond OCD and ADAA
• NIMH.NIH.gov
• Clinical evaluation of youth with pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS)
• PANDAS Network
• Tourette Association of America

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Mobile Apps

OCD.app

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