To ask if anyone has any experience of therapy that has worked for teenager with OCD?

DD16 has the intrusive thoughts type of OCD and is ASD, fluoxetine/Prozac has helped a bit but CBT didn't really. She's currently trying EMDR, but it's too early to tell yet if it's going to work.

My utmost sympathy, we're in a similar situation, DD is not in school, not going out, depressed and struggling to find the energy and motivation - it's heartbreaking to see your child so miserable. I hope you can find something that works for her.

I feel for you all so much. OCD is truly awful. Someone very close to me, slightly older than your teens when I first became aware they were suffering had been having problems from quite a young age. Their issue wasn’t anything immediately obvious to us such as fear of germs or the need for repeated handwashing, it turned out it was hearing one particular word commonly used every day in all sorts of situations that prompted obsessive thoughts that could only be neutralised by carrying out a series of rituals. As time went on longer and more complicated rituals were needed to neutralise the thoughts the word caused. Virtually the whole day was taken up doing them and by the time their GP became involved lack of sleep was a major issue too.
The GP went above and beyond at the first appointment, initially referring them for an emergency mental health assessment as they had alluded to suicidal thoughts, then seeing them again in the evening and daily for the first week. He even put arrangements in place for the days he was off and added a marker on their records making clear that if an appointment was requested it should be given. Sleeping tablets were prescribed for a couple of nights followed by a prescription for Sertraline and once the medication was found to be helping he recommended several books that would be useful to read whilst waiting for CBT
By the time the appointment came through they were better able to cope, but CBT was extremely tough because it involved them having to say and write the word, and keep a daily diary of how it made them feel both when they did, and each time they heard the word spoken by others. Up until then we had all done our best to avoid using the word in any of its forms while they were present but we were advised that this was doing them no favours. When the course of CBT finished they began attending a local group for OCD suffers and found that talking openly to others with the condition was really helpful
I appreciate that none of this will be of any great use to you with young teens but it may help you to know that with the right treatment there is light at the end of tunnel . Occasionally we notice a slight reaction if the word comes up in conversation but CBT provided them with the tools to cope and the need for any ritualistic actions has gone.
As a parent I can only imagine how awful and worrying it must be to watch your child suffering in this way, and all the more so because help and treatment is so hard to find. I literally had no idea how debilitating, isolating and frightening OCD is and nowadays my hackles rise when people try to minimise it. It’s criminal that so little help is available.

Me too..11 year old dd

Yes, my DD is taking the pill to stop her periods, and it’s definitely helping her. Certainly something to consider for those with girls. To all those dealing with OCD.

I just wanted to say that my heart goes out to you and to all the OCD sufferers and their parents.

My DD was diagnosed with OCD and ASD at 15. She had been having major problems for about 6 months before that (and had actually been having problems for even longer, but had been covering it up).

She has been on 60mg Fluoxetine for just over a year now, and has been having ERP CBT therapy with a clinical psychologist for about 15 months. She has also gone on the pill and runs the packets together so as to miss periods (it's really helpful to her not to have to deal with heavy periods and hormonal changes, plus I think she was getting iron deficient as well).

All of these things have helped her a lot. She has really improved massively from a point of being basically unable to function or go to school. She is back in school full time and taking part in extracurricular activities. She was able to do all her exams last summer. She is not out of the woods yet, and I suspect she will always need some upkeep with therapy and medication. But she really is very, very much better.

Wishing all the very best to everyone.

My Dd (18) has finally been discharged by her psychiatrist last week. She was diagnosed with OCD 4 years ago - at its worst her bed time rituals were taking 3.5 +hours. It’s such a debilitating and stressful condition for all involved.

She was prescribed Sertraline to reduce her anxiety and has then had CBT which worked really well. Her psychiatrist explained at the start that the medication was necessary to get the anxiety level down sufficiently that she could actually engage with the CBT.

I think the biggest factor in her case was that she came to me asking for help and really really wanted to not have to engage in the rituals. Good luck to you both OP.

its the classic don’t think of a polar bear - all you will think about is a polar bear. Takes work and a good psychologist to learn how to do it. Our massive breakthrough was realising that the thoughts don’t mean anything on their own. We attach meaning to them which makes them repeat. So tough for them but it is possible to recover 💐

you don’t want any therapy where they are told to challenge /investigate their thoughts instead they need to sit with them, observe them and let them pass without responding to them
This is really interesting and I think is what works for DD too. Learning to recognise it's a feeling that does pass, although she has commented that the waiting for it to pass can be a long time. It's also very tiring to resist the urge because another one comes along almost immediately.
But, after years of this coming and going she does seem to be on a fairly even keel at the moment.
I suspect her ASD has a large component of rejection dysphoria and this is the part that the OCD has seized upon recently but she's self aware enough to realise now if she's feeling very strong but not entirely rational thoughts, they may be being driven by the OCD and this seems enough for the feelings to begin to reduce.
She's also highly aware of contamination and I don't question if she needs to change clothes etc but I do look out for signs of hand washing as a yardstick of how well she's coping. Stress generally does make it flare up.

If there's ASD in the mix, regular CBT likely won't have the same effect. Mine is ASD, ADD and OCD. Found a private therapist who understood the combination and she's much better now, plus Sertraline. Good luck!

like a pp said ERP (exposure response prevention) type of cbt works with ocd. May need medication to bring down the anxiety enough to engage with therapy. You don’t want any therapy where they are told to challenge /invesitgate their thoughts instead they need to sit with them, observe them and let them pass without responding to them. Good book we used was break free from ocd dr Fiona challacombe. There is also a good Facebook support group for parents whose kids have ocd in the uk. 💐

Haven't had any luck with therapy but medication has helped my daughter. An anti depressant and a beta blocker. She is still far from living a normal life and her progress is slow but she is improving.

Hi, I had suffered my whole life with OCD until I finally found a really good therapist (private) combined with Sertraline. (This took the edge off so that I could focus on the therapy).
My parents didn’t take me to a doctor or try and get me help, I wish they had as I feel like I wasted so many years of my life. You sound like a fantastic, caring parent. I really hope you can get your daughter sorted xxxxx

My sister had hypnotherapy for her OCD and it was life changing. She was pregnant at the time and one of her obsessions was food contamination so she wasn't eating, it was very frightening.

For me CBT wasn’t helpful, as a lot of the exercises just reinforced the problematic way I was thinking and it didn’t help me with accepting uncertainty. It was when I tried hypnotherapy and Acceptance and Commitment therapy that I finally got on the road to recovery. Now I only get a bit obsessive when I’m really under stress but can recognise it and not respond to it.

I’m so sorry to hear about other DC suffering. My DD (15) always had anxieties round cleanliness, eg she couldn’t touch dirty laundry, but I think the pandemic made her a lot worse. She had some CBT through CAMHS almost 2 years ago, which might have been helpful except it was over before it really got going. It did lead to DD getting a (private) ASD diagnosis, and her symptoms weren’t so bad for a while. She is now in Year 11, and her OCD is bad atm: her hands bleed from the washing. And she can’t touch her schoolbooks at home because they’re dirty, which is a bit challenging.
We’ve just found a private therapist via the National Autistic Society directory, so I hope she is going to get ASD-friendly therapy. That might be a route to try for anyone with OCD and ASD.

Exposure therapy but they must also be on medication and at the right dosage otherwise it’s not going to work sadly. The best of luck.

Yes to second that, CBT needs to be a certain kind for autistic people. Seems like regular CBT doesn’t work. Autistics too rational and it’s not effective so must be presented and taught differently.

Yes, the most effective treatment is ERP, not straight CBT. However if it's autism as well it will also need to be specifically targeted to that. Medication can also be useful.

@deaperatelyunhappyandscared I’m so glad to read that, sometimes just knowing someone understands and can relate can help so much.
I so hope for some improvement for you and your daughter soon. Medication really did give us somewhat of a life back, we’ve just had an awful relapse right now but I’m hoping we can get back to a decent place soon.

I hope you will soon be experiencing that same positive step in the right direction. Will be thinking of you both x

Yes I had this & health anxiety for about 5 years & it was ruining my life!! I went to therapy through the NHS & it 'cured' me!

There might be something you could do with diet to reduce the intensity. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/foods-to-cure-ocd#summary

If you start her on b12 be aware that methylated version may be necessary. Or not.

there are three different types.

I’m guessing it’s likely your daughter (and you) have the MTHFR gene.

When the methylation cycle is off, things go wrong in the brain.

Omega 3 is anti-inflammatory for the brain.

Vitamin D is also anti-inflammatory for the whole body.

I would see if you can get her to the GP for some blood tests. Or if nothing else, just to trial some of these and see if it helps.

I get our omega 3 from Bare Biology and methylated b12 from Solgar.

She may be low in iron/ferritin too. That doesn’t help either.

We eat liver once a week now to help with methylation. I know it’s a big ask. But we’ve all got the MTHFR gene so I feel it’s essential.

I'm a clinical psychologist (I work with adults rather than children) and I have found emdr to be particularly effective in treating OCD. X