OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition characterized by obsessions and compulsions that interfere with daily life. Obsessions are thoughts, images, or ideas that won't go away, are unwanted, and are extremely distressing or worrying. Compulsions are behaviours that the child feels have to be done repeatedly to relieve anxiety. 

OCD tends to affect all areas of a person's life, and when it comes to adolescents and teenagers, this means school life, social life, home life, and personal life. 

You can be rest assured that at Skooc, you and your family are in good hands.

Symptoms

Keep a look out for some of the following signs:

Obsessions:

The repeated thoughts or mental images inherent to obsessive-compulsive disorder commonly surround one of the following areas:

• Fear of Germs/contamination – fear of shaking hands, using doorknobs/handles, etc.

• Need for particular order and symmetry – perfectly lined up items, following an exact nighttime routine, method of studying

• Aggression or Violence – thoughts and/or mental images surrounding violent or aggressive acts toward self or others

• Doubts – obsessive thoughts and doubts about certain acts being completed leading to anxiety

Compulsions

 In the short term, carrying out the compulsive behaviours can ease the anxiety and diminish the distress. OCD compulsions often consist of one of the following:

• Washing – excessive and repeated cleaning in response to the fear of germs

• Arranging or ordering – repeatedly placing items in a particular order or symmetrical pattern. 

• Checking – compulsions of checking typically encompass making sure a certain task has been completed, such as locking the door or turning off the oven.

• Counting – many with OCD feel compelled to count in an attempt to decrease anxiety. 

If you notice recurring instances of a few of these symptoms, we at Skooc recommend a formal evaluation. 

Diagnosis

At Skooc, we help you better understand what you are going through. The clinical diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder is generally concluded after a thorough psychiatric evaluation and physical exam. A psychological evaluation is essential as it enables the clinician to gain insights into a teen's behaviour patterns, symptoms, thoughts, and feelings. This can help the evaluating clinician determine if the young person's obsessions and/ or compulsions are actively interfering with his or her ability to function and quality of life. The current diagnostic criteria for OCD include:

• The presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both

• Obsessions and/ or compulsions that are time-consuming (at least an hour per day) and/ or result in clinically significant distress and/ or impairment in occupational, social, and/ or other areas of functioning

• OCD symptoms are not attributable to physiological effects of another mental condition (e.g., side effects of medication, substance use disorder etc.)

• The obsessive-compulsive disturbances are not better explained as symptoms of another mental disorder

Click here to take an assessment.

Next Steps and Intervention

Our team of professional psychologists at Skooc can help you by providing the necessary interventions. 

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – CBT is a form of psychotherapy that aims to modify unhealthy thoughts and behaviours while teaching skills to manage emotions. CBT has shown lasting results for many youths with OCD.

• Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) – a form of cognitive behavioural therapy, ERP puts the person suffering from OCD in situations where they are exposed to their obsession(s) while at the same time being prevented from performing the compulsion(s) usually used to ease the anxiety. In short, ERP intentionally induces anxiety in a controlled way to gradually show the person with OCD that he or she can "survive" the anxiety without acting in a compulsive manner.

• Family therapy not only supports the individual with OCD but also his or her parents and siblings. It can assist family members in better coping with and responding to the struggles of the teen and help them learn how to set limits and boundaries.