I recently watched my 11-year-old nephew play basketball in his local league. As I took in the scene of the freshly polished court, the paid referees, illuminated scoreboard, and live buzzers, I couldn’t help but think how grown up my nephew and his team had become. There they were independently taking coach instructions, chatting with the refs, and playing with skill and technique. That is until something out-of-sync occurred. One of the kids was accidentally elbowed, as several kids had been throughout the game. Seemingly hurt, the boy paused the game and covered his face with his hands, perhaps in tears, perhaps not. All at once, a frantic mother rapidly emerged from the bleachers rushing... read more ...

“Families really need to be involved in treatment, because they really do play a part in OCD even when they don’t realize it. Whenever I had company over, I didn’t know they were all contaminating the whole house for my son.” -Mrs. Jones, mother of a 19-year-old adolescent who was successfully treated in an intensive treatment program It cannot be stressed enough the necessity of involving parents and other caretakers in the treatment of children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This is also essential for those adults with OCD who continue to live with and depend upon their parents. OCD typically involves family members of the patient suffering from this disorder.... read more ...

“If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” - Abraham Maslow Seeking out the assistance of a therapist is a desperate and courageous act.  Typically, for a parent, it means they have tried and failed to help their child behave, so they have friends, get along with siblings and family members, and achieve their potential at school.  Parents often state that what they want their child to get from therapy are “tools to manage their behavior.”  These pleas sound like “Why won’t he learn from his mistakes?” “Why can’t she see that what she is doing is getting in the way of her achieving her goals?” “Won’t the consequences teach him?” Consequences... read more ...