I attended the OCD Foundation's first-ever Behavior Therapy Training Institute on Pediatric OCD, which was held at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin in mid- September. The main components of OCD treatment for children and teens include:

• Education/Rapport Building (what is OCD?, building the client's trust)
• Cognitive Therapy (motivation, naming and externalizing the OCD, responding to content vs themes, etc)
• Exposure and Response Prevention (identifying triggers and gradually exposing the child until anxiety declines without engaging in rituals)
• Family Therapy (teaching parents how to help their child)

When you are engaging in a mood-dependent behavior, you are acting on your underlying emotional state. Later on, you may feel guilt and shame about your actions. In the moment, however, you acted on your emotions without thinking because it would have been too uncomfortable to pause and practice tolerating the discomfort of a negative emotion, thought or bodily sensation. Instead, you chose an action that could instantly bring some relief. 

You are not doomed to a life of engaging in mood-dependent behaviors. Instead, you can learn to make mindful choices by purposefully engaging in strategic behaviors that will help you manage your emotions and direct your actions toward your values and goals.

Click here to learn about Mindful Choices.