About 1 million children and adolescents have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), with 2 percent of children showing symptoms between ages 7 and 12, according to the New York University Child Study Center. A patient with OCD has uncontrolled thoughts that drive behaviors such as obsessive hand washing. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment, as it helps the child control his behaviors. Two CBT techniques are used: exposure and response prevention and cognitive therapy.
Exposure Technique
The first half of exposure and response prevention is to expose the patient to the source of the obsession. For example, if the obsession is related to germs, the therapist will expose the child to dirt or to other objects the child believes is covered in germs. With the exposure technique, the therapist tailors the therapy specifically to the patient and her cause of anxiety.
Response Prevention
The second part of the therapy is to prevent the patient from reacting to the obsession trigger. So, if the child is exposed to the dirt, he is not allowed to wash his hands, which is his compulsive behavior. As result, the exposure and response prevention teaches the patient healthy coping strategies for anxiety, according to the Mayo Clinic. By having ways to respond to anxiety, he does not need to resort to the ritualistic behaviors. HelpGuide adds that this CBT technique "retrains" the brain, which can eliminate the compulsive behaviors from continuing into adulthood.
Cognitive Therapy
Another CBT technique, cognitive therapy also deals with the obsessions of OCD and teaches the patient not to respond with compulsions. HelpGuide states that cognitive therapy goes through four steps with the child to help her change her response to anxiety. In the first step, the therapist works with the child to recognize that her thoughts and behaviors are because of OCD. The child moves to the second step when she realizes that the thoughts and their control over her life are because of a biochemical imbalance. In the third step of cognitive therapy, the child refocuses her attention to something else to avoid the compulsions. When she reaches the fourth step, she understands that these obsessions are not significant and cannot control her.
