Children’s OCD & Anxiety Collective

Children’s OCD & Anxiety Collective The Children’s OCD & Anxiety Collective is a California-based online CBT Center.

The Children’s OCD & Anxiety Collective is a California-based online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) center for children, adolescents, and emerging adults with OCD, anxiety, and related disorders – founded by Elena Fasan.

Distress associated with OCD is often presented as synonymous or interchangeable with anxiety, but in the context of OCD...
10/17/2025

Distress associated with OCD is often presented as synonymous or interchangeable with anxiety, but in the context of OCD, they are not. There can also be an assumption that distress associated with OCD is only anxiety, and that is also false. Among those diagnosed with OCD, the experience of distress can take many forms. Awareness and understanding of this can be quite helpful for parents and others caring for young people diagnosed with OCD.

Disclaimer:
Follow to learn more about how parents and others caring for young people diagnosed with OCD, OC spectrum disorders, and anxiety disorders can offer support and how ERP, mindfulness-based CBT, ACT, parenting training, and SPACE can help.⁠
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Looking for therapy for your child, teen, or young adult or SPACE parent training to manage their symptoms? Contact the Children's OCD & Anxiety Collective through our website. See link in bio.⁠
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Content on this page is provided for educational purposes only. Individual advice is not being offered, nor is online content a replacement for engagement in psychotherapy. Always consult with your licensed mental health practitioner before implementing any practices found online.

It is so common for parents to feel overwhelmed and exhausted by trying to manage behavior related to their child or tee...
10/06/2025

It is so common for parents to feel overwhelmed and exhausted by trying to manage behavior related to their child or teen's OCD and/or anxiety disorder. It may seem impossible to ask them to do chores and to manage their own responsibilities.

It may require creativity and adjustment, such as asking as child with contamination fears to put away groceries or walk and feed the pet dog, rather than wash dishes. Collaborate with them, asking them how they think they can take on more responsibility. It is a process that may not be easy, and with consistent effort, it will support their development and their recovery.

Follow to learn more about how parents and others caring for young people diagnosed with OCD, OC spectrum disorders, and anxiety disorders can offer support and how ERP, mindfulness-based CBT, ACT, parenting training, and SPACE can help.⁠
⁠
Looking for therapy for your child, teen, or young adult or SPACE parent training to manage their symptoms? Contact the Children's OCD & Anxiety Collective through our website. See link in bio.⁠
⁠
Content on this page is provided for educational purposes only. Individual advice is not being offered, nor is online content a replacement for engagement in psychotherapy. Always consult with your licensed mental health practitioner before implementing any practices found online.

Today is the International Day of Charity, and I am reminded of my parents and their activism. They taught me the import...
09/06/2025

Today is the International Day of Charity, and I am reminded of my parents and their activism. They taught me the importance of being of service to others. This day commemorates the anniversary of Mother Teresa's passing. May we all find ways to be of service to others, as there are so many people who are in need.

Follow to learn more about how parents and others caring for young people diagnosed with OCD, OC spectrum disorders, and anxiety disorders can offer support and how ERP, mindfulness-based CBT, ACT, parenting training, and SPACE can help.⁠
⁠
Looking for therapy for your child, teen, or young adult or SPACE parent training to manage their symptoms? Contact the Children's OCD & Anxiety Collective through our website. See link in bio.⁠
⁠
Content on this page is provided for educational purposes only. Individual advice is not being offered, nor is online content a replacement for engagement in psychotherapy. Always consult with your licensed mental health practitioner before implementing any practices found online.

We all have busy lives, AND when we carve out time to engage in play and sprinkle playfulness into our interactions with...
08/26/2025

We all have busy lives, AND when we carve out time to engage in play and sprinkle playfulness into our interactions with young people everyone involved benefits. If you are parenting OCD and/or anxiety, it can offer much needed connection, joy, and even much needed respite.

Experiment to find ind what's right for you and the young people with OCD and/or anxiety you are parenting or otherwise caring for. Here are some examples: Imaginative play, sports, dancing, playful teasing and joking, board games, video games, goofing around, riddles, word games

Follow to learn more about how parents and others caring for young people diagnosed with OCD, OC spectrum disorders, and anxiety disorders can offer support and how ERP, mindfulness-based CBT, ACT, parenting training, and SPACE can help.⁠
⁠
Looking for therapy for your child, teen, or young adult or SPACE parent training to manage their symptoms? Contact the Children's OCD & Anxiety Collective through our website. See link in bio.⁠
⁠
Content on this page is provided for educational purposes only. Individual advice is not being offered, nor is online content a replacement for engagement in psychotherapy. Always consult with your licensed mental health practitioner before implementing any practices found online.

❤️

This one's for you, Dad ❤
06/16/2025

This one's for you, Dad ❤

Happy birthday, Mom! 🥳 Thank you for parenting with so much love ❤️
06/07/2025

Happy birthday, Mom! 🥳 Thank you for parenting with so much love ❤️

The first question I ask when parents tell me their child or adolescent has been en in therapy to address a diagnosis of...
03/30/2025

The first question I ask when parents tell me their child or adolescent has been en in therapy to address a diagnosis of OCD and/or an anxiety disorder and not making progress is, "What homework is being assigned?" Almost always, homework hasn't been given, or it is minimal and suggested rather than assigned. If homework isn't assigned, it is not evidence-based treatment for those diagnoses, simple as that.

Homework is a hallmark of the current evidence-based treatments of OCD and anxiety disorders: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and exposure and response prevention (ERP). Most client work happens between sessions, and parents are almost always asked to learn skills and change their behavioral responses to symptoms.

It matters a great deal what skills are being taught AND the intention(s) driving use of those skills. For example, if the goal of breathing exercises and/or progressive muscle relaxation is to relax or calm down, temporary relief is traded for long term distress tolerance. Using the breath or focusing on the body as an anchor to ground one's self while allowing the experience of distress to occur offers long term distress tolerance over short term relief. The first is a temporary band aid, while the second builds psychological flexibility.

Follow to learn more about how parents and others caring for young people diagnosed with OCD, OC spectrum disorders, and anxiety disorders can offer support, as well as how mindfulness-based CBT, ACT and ERP can help.⁠
⁠
Looking for therapy for your child, teen, or emerging adult or parent training to manage their symptoms? Contact the Children's OCD & Anxiety Collective through our website. See link in bio.⁠
⁠
Content on this page is provided for educational purposes only. Individual advice is not being offered, nor is online content a replacement for engagement in psychotherapy. Always consult with your licensed mental health practitioner before implementing any practices found online.

Shout out to Thich Naht Hahn and his teachings about mindfulness, acceptance, forgiveness, and more. His life's work and...
03/30/2025

Shout out to Thich Naht Hahn and his teachings about mindfulness, acceptance, forgiveness, and more. His life's work and legacy are truly inspiring. ❤ 🙌

Follow to learn more about how parents and others caring for young people diagnosed with OCD, OC spectrum disorders, and anxiety disorders can offer support and how mindfulness-based CBT, ACT and ERP can help.⁠
⁠
Looking for therapy for your child, teen, or emerging adult or parent training to manage their symptoms? Contact the Children's OCD & Anxiety Collective through our website. See link in bio.⁠
⁠
Content on this page is provided for educational purposes only. Individual advice is not being offered,nor is online content a replacement for engagement in psychotherapy. Always consult with your licensed mental health practitioner before implementing any practices found online.


When we treat boredom as a problem that must be solved, we rob children and teens of the opportunity to build distress t...
03/29/2025

When we treat boredom as a problem that must be solved, we rob children and teens of the opportunity to build distress tolerance and of the potential boredom has to spur exploration and creativity.

Allow your kids and teens to feel bored. They can handle it, and it will increase their distress tolerance, meaning they will have greater confidence that they can handle distress and discomfort. I am confident that you can handle their responses when they are not rescued from boredom.

When my siblings and I were growing up, our parents limited the amount of time we were allowed to watch TV. If we were bored, they would tell us to go find something to do, without offering suggestions. If we whined about it, they told us to go outside or assigned a household chore. Those responses enriched my childhood in so many ways.


I completely understand the fear some parents have of their child or teen being labeled as having a mental illness and h...
03/12/2025

I completely understand the fear some parents have of their child or teen being labeled as having a mental illness and harmed by that label. And, I have seen, over and over again, the relief young clients and their parents feel when there is an explanation for their symptoms and the enlightenment that follows. Things finally make sense.

When we name something for what it is, it is empowering, as it can normalize our experience, open the door for self-compassion, serve as a road map for action, and offer the possibility of connection through community with others sharing the same experience.

The more we name diagnosed mental health conditions for what they are, the more we chip away at the stigma that exists and the better able we are to challenge and correct false information and stereotypes.

And, even though we name OCD and anxiety disorders for what they are, we can and should still be selective about those with whom we share that information.

OCD treatment of young people is a family affair, because OCD has a way of hijacking family systems. It does this, in pa...
03/06/2025

OCD treatment of young people is a family affair, because OCD has a way of hijacking family systems. It does this, in part, through the process of family accommodation. That is what loved ones of those with OCD do and do not do to try to prevent their loved one's distress. It is intuitive to accommodate OCD, but it is not helpful.

Effective treatment of OCD in kids and teens involves those kids and teens learning to respond differently to their OCD symptoms. They learn to reduce over attending and over responding to OCD and to reduce compulsions through practices including non-engagement, mindfulness, acceptance, and ERP.

Effective treatment of OCD in kids and teens also involves parents and guardians of those kids and teens learning to respond differently by reducing accommodation. Parents and guardians must also learn to replace communication that is demanding, protective, or that vacillates between the two with supportive communication that offers their kid or teen acceptance of their emotions and confidence that they can handle feeling those emotions.

Learning to change responses is not easy, but working together as a family to change responses can have a powerful and life changing effect. It can bring peace as the family takes back control from OCD.

I am thrilled to be a part of the IOCDF's Online OCD Camp, coming up this weekend, February 1-2. It is a wonderful oppor...
01/29/2025

I am thrilled to be a part of the IOCDF's Online OCD Camp, coming up this weekend, February 1-2. It is a wonderful opportunity for children, adolescents, parents/caregivers, and others supporting young people with OCD to learn from experts in the field and to meet and commiserate with others who share their experience.

I am partnering with the brilliant Dr. Christina Brooks, PsyD, of the Anxiety and Behavioral Health Center to present:
📣 Drop the Rope! Walking Away from Mental Tug of War with OCD (high schoolers track)
📣 How Much Should I Push Vs Protect? Developing Supportive Statements to Encourage Children with OCD (parents/caregivers track)

Register for the Online OCD Camp: https://events.iocdf.org/event/e3aa3675-623f-4b8a-849f-6e9dff4e6996/regProcessStep1?RefId=presenter-reminder

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Address

1125 E. Broadway Ste. # 1002
Glendale, CA
91205

Telephone

+13239916692

Website

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