Where do I go for help with 11yr old daughter?

[zjg22]

Hi. My daughter has been suffering with symptoms for a few months now. They started off very subtly but now have become more intense in recent weeks. Her main worry is with contamination - bringing germs home from school, showering as soon as she gets home, not touching anything in her school bag once she's had a shower. She also won't sit back on seats on buses, trains, planes etc and wants to cover up in a coat and hood so her skin/hair won't touch the seat or hand rails or rests. It all kicked off after she had COVID at Christmas and has escalated quickly since Easter I would say.

I'm at a loss where to go for help. School had a chat with her but the counsellor hasn't followed up with either myself or my daughter. 

Where can I go to get help for diagnosis, CBT or other things we can do to help? It's all a bit overwhelming at the moment.

Thanks for listening x

[Gemma@OCDUK]

Hi zjg22,

I'm sorry to hear that your daughter is struggling so much at the moment. You can access CBT on the NHS, but what service is best for your daughter depends on how old she is. if she is under 16 years old then she would need a referral to her local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) who will be able to assess, diagnose and offer treatment. 

We do have some fantastic presentations aimed at parents of children under 18 years old, that offer ideas on how to tackle OCD as a family. You can find them all here https://www.ocduk.org/conference/conferences-across-the-uk/2021-virtual/family/ and here https://www.ocduk.org/conference/conferences-across-the-uk/2020-virtual/conference-map/family/

Gemma

 

 

 

[zjg22]

Thank you so much Gemma - I really appreciate your reply and all of your advice. She is 11 years old so I'll have a good listen to everything you have sent through and take it from there. Z