OCD Group Therapy
For Kids and Teens
I offer Group Therapy for youth experiencing active OCD symptoms. The group cover a condensed version of the content your child will receive in individual ERP therapy for OCD. The eight week course will cover the following modules:
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Education about Anxiety and OCD
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Coping Skills for Anxiety
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Planning Your Treatment Hierarchy
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Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP) Therapy
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Living with Anxiety
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Parent Education
Sessions will be a combination of structured information, active treatment, and also will allow time for children to connect with one another about joint experiences. Parent education will also be included to educate parents about their child’s OCD and what their child is learning in the group.
Why Enroll Your Child in a Group?
As we all know, the waitlists in central Oregon for therapy are very long. To receive specialized OCD treatment, the waitlists can be up to or beyond a year long. I first created parents classes for children with anxiety, an intervention for youth that parents can provide within their homes while their child waits for individual therapy. These new therapy groups for youth is my next step at helping to deliver services more quickly to kids who are waiting to be seen.
There are currently no groups running for OCD in Central Oregon. Research supports that group therapy is an effective modality for treating OCD and I would argue that the group modality also offers validation, connection, and a sense of not feeling “alone” with the anxiety.
My hope is these groups will offer youth the chance to get symptom relief much quicker than waiting on waitlists for individual therapy as well as decrease the length of time a child will eventually need to be seen by an individual therapist. In addition, because Bend does not offer intensive outpatient treatment for OCD at this time, adding on group therapy for a child who is already being seen by an individual therapist is a good way to get a higher frequency of treatment locally.
While this is likely not a replacement for individual therapy, it will provide them with relief, support, and a guideline for how to manage their symptoms. Additionally, if a child’s symptoms are mild, they may find after this group that they no longer need specialized OCD care.
