For pediatric presentations of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, clinicians and parents must get creative.  

It is helpful for a child to imagine and name an OCD monster!

The name that the child chooses can be silly, scary, or practical – but the important part is that naming the OCD monster helps externalize the disorder.  The child must understand that the OCD monster is making them do something and that it is not actually what they want or need to do.  

A helpful therapy activity is to create visual representations of the OCD monster.  The more details the child is able to portray in his/her drawing, the more vivid the metaphor.  OCD monster will evolve over time, so this art intervention can be used as a progress check-in exercise with a child every month or so.  

This monster grows and shrinks based on how much it is fed.  When the child does a compulsion, it feeds the monster.  When the child resists their compulsions, the monster stays the same, eventually shrinks, and maybe disappears.  We ask: What would your life be like without that OCD monster? 

To get a glimpse of what your life would be like without the OCD Monster, contact us to schedule an OCD treatment session today!