Living with and/or parenting someone with OCD can be exhausting. The things their OCD wants them to do can be irrational. annoying, and time-consuming. And unfortunately, the natural, kind ways that we want to respond - helping them, reassuring them, doing things that can immediately reduce their anxiety - can actually increase their distress in the long run. Here is the information that I like to share with parents and family members of clients with OCD (and other anxiety disorders) to help them understand what is going on and what their role in treatment will be.

Child-Parent Relationship Training is a play-based curriculum to help parents improve communication and connection with their kids. You will also learn and practice important skills like limit-setting, giving choices, and esteem-building.

Instead of getting stuck going over and over and over a problem in your life, imagine what the solution will look like.

When being nice and trying to ignore them isn’t working, here are some ideas of how to stand up for yourself (without going too far outside of your comfort zone!).

As parents, we are wired to protect our kids. But…how should we respond when what they’re scared of isn’t actually dangerous to them? How can we help them face things that are hard so that they develop resilience?

There are no magic words that will erase all frustrating childhood behaviors. So when you have all the ‘right’ skills but still (of course) have moments when you are frustrated and struggling and it just doesn’t seem to work ‘right’, here are some things to keep in mind…

If you’re tired of being the broken record of ‘no’s or feel like all of your energy is going into negotiating things you’re not sure you should be negotiating, some new limit setting techniques might help!

Stress is normal, but can easily overwhelm us. Here are some ideas to help you practice noticing and moderating your body’s reactions to stress, to help you become more resilient.

These might be the “best four years of your life!!” …or they might not. Here is my advice for college freshmen, as a former high school teacher, mental health counseling intern at a four-year university, and therapist who specializes in working with young adults.