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During the third and final interview of her series on Successfully Parenting Teens with OCD appearing on Small Business Trendsetters Magazine, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT) Melissa Mose, shared a 3-step road map for parents to follow.
“Besides my 20 years of professional experience as an OCD specialist, I’m also the mother of a child with OCD, so I know from first hand experience just how important it is to have a clear understanding and path to follow when dealing with the unique challenges of raising a child working to cope with OCD.”, states Mose.
Step #1: Parents need to do their research. In order to help a child through any difficulties, it is important for parents to know exactly what they are dealing with. Most people think of things like compulsive hand-washing and checking or repeating compulsions as being the primary symptoms of OCD, so parents don’t always recognize it. Some OCD symptoms that may be missed or misinterpreted include a constant need to be reassured, intrusive and unwanted thoughts, inability to focus, extreme emotional reactions, and concerns about self image. Early detection is extremely important.
Step #2: Because of the nature of OCD, it is important to move slowly. OCD symptoms do not improve in a straight line, they come and go. There are good days and bad days, and the treatment can be demanding. Have the child help score each of their compulsions from 1 to 10 and slowly work their way up the hierarchy. Parents should think of themselves as a teammate working on the easier to eliminate compulsions first and working their way up to more difficult ones.
Mose explains parents should “Think about the way a child learns any skill, sport or instrument. You start with simpler tasks and move into the hard ones at the right pace. This too, is a process of learning. Learning how to sit with discomfort and not compulsively fix it.”
Step #3: Keep family routines as normal as possible. While evaluating and possibly modifying expectations for the person with OCD is important, it is also important to keep the big picture in mind. OCD can very quickly consume a whole family if care is not taken to keep routines going. A feeling of unity needs to be created so the entire family feels as though they are on the same team. Research being done by Anthony Pinto, Ph.D., Barbara Van Noppen, Ph.D., Monica S. Wu, M.A., & Lisa Calvocoressi, Ph.D supports this approach.
Mose says, “it is possible and important to be empathetic without being accommodating.”
It helps to discuss it as a family to create a realistic family contract or plan and goals that everyone will achieve together.
To read the full article, visit: http://smallbusinesstrendsetters.com/road-map
To learn more about Melissa Mose, LMFT visit: http://melissamosemft.com/about-us/
Release ID: 139196