Indy Child Therapist, LLC

10/27/2025

NEW BLOG POST IS UP! Your calm response really can change your child’s world!
When you stay steady during your child’s big feelings, you’re not just stopping a meltdown—you’re teaching their nervous system that emotions are safe.

This new post explores how co-regulation and secure attachment help kids build confidence, resilience, and emotional safety—starting with everyday moments. https://indychildtherapist.com/building-secure-bonds-through-coregulation/

10/26/2025

This weekend our Clinical Director attended the 3 day Advanced Forum on Pediatric OCD hosted by the International OCD Foundation. It was an amazing time of networking and learning.
We believe in being a lifelong learner as well as staying up to date on the most effective as well as emerging treatment modalities available! Hanging out with the research and thought leaders in our field is such a unique and helpful experience

10/23/2025

New Blog Post!!
When your child feels “stuck” in worry thoughts or rituals, it’s easy to wonder why they can’t just stop. ERP—Exposure and Response Prevention—is the gold-standard treatment for OCD that helps kids face fears instead of feeding them.

In this post, we break down what ERP therapy looks like in kid-friendly language (with spiders 🕷️and puppies 🐶, of course) and how parents can support the process at home. https://indychildtherapist.com/what-is-erp-for-ocd-and-why-it-works-for-kids/

10/22/2025

We were SO excited to celebrate the up coming wedding of our amazing Clinical Team Lead, Dana. Dana is such a ray of light in our office and pours so much into each and every staff. We are blessed to have her and know her fiancé feels the same!!

10/11/2025

We wrap up OCD Awareness Week with a podcast episode from OCD Family Podcast where our owner, Jessica Hood, was able to catch up with Nicole at the OCD walk. Heck the podcast out as it has both great short snippets as well as longer segments that all focus around the family and OCD! Thanks for having us Nicole!!

Podcast Episode · OCD Family Podcast · 10/10/2025 · 1h 8m

10/10/2025

OCD AWARENESS WEEK- Day 5
Research shows that parent involvement in ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) or ICBT leads to stronger outcomes for kids with OCD.
When parents learn to spot reassurance traps and support exposures at home, therapy progress accelerates.
Parents are not bystanders in OCD therapy—they’re change agents.

10/09/2025

OCD AWARENESS WEEK- Day 4

Children with OCD often feel scared or ashamed of their thoughts—especially when those thoughts are “bad” or seem weird.
But thoughts are just thoughts. Having a thought doesn’t mean they believe it or want it.
Parents can help by saying things like, “That’s an OCD thought, not who you are,” or “You don’t have to believe every thought your brain sends you.”
When kids learn to see OCD as a bully that lies, they start getting their power back.

10/08/2025

OCD AWARENESS WEEK- Day 3

OCD tells kids to avoid things that trigger anxiety—like touching doorknobs, saying certain words, or being near something “contaminated.”
Avoidance brings quick relief, but it also tells the brain the danger is real.
That’s why exposure therapy (ERP) helps so much—it gently teaches the brain that you can feel uncomfortable and be safe at the same time.
OCD doesn’t have to call the shots. Kids can learn to tolerate the discomfort and take back control of their lives.

10/07/2025

OCD AWARENESS WEEK- Day 2

When your child is anxious, it’s natural to want to comfort them with reassurance:
“No, you’re not bad.”
“Yes, you locked the door.”
“It’s okay, nothing bad will happen.”
But with OCD, reassurance actually feeds the cycle and teaches the brain that the fear is real.
The good news? You can learn new ways to respond that help your child’s brain unlearn the fear instead.
It’s not easy, but it’s powerful—and it works.

We teach parents how to support their child’s ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) work so progress happens faster and lasts longer.

10/06/2025

OCD AWARENESS WEEK- Day 1

When most people hear “OCD,” they think of neatness or cleaning—but that’s only one small part of what OCD can look like.
Kids with OCD often experience intrusive thoughts (unwanted, upsetting “what if” thoughts) and feel driven to do something to make the anxiety go away—like repeating, checking, or asking for reassurance.
If your child seems “stuck” in certain worries or rituals, it’s not bad behavior—it’s anxiety in disguise.

At Indy Child Therapist, we help kids and families learn skills to break free from those cycles and feel confident again.

10/04/2025

What you’ll learn in 6 weeks:

How to stop yelling and calmly manage behavior

Tools to handle tantrums, defiance, and sibling rivalry

Simple strategies that work in the moment

Group starts Tuesday at 11:10 on 10/14/25
Register now at www.indychildtherapist.com/therapy-groups

10/04/2025

Over half of our team came out for the OCD Walk today (not pictured: Melissa and Alicia).

At Indy Child Therapist, every member of our team, including our interns, is trained in the basics of OCD assessment and treatment. More than half have also completed multi-day trainings in both ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) and ICBT (Inference-Based CBT).

Our mission has always been to ensure that kids receive excellent and effective clinical care, whether for OCD, ADHD, or any other concern. We are so grateful for the families who allow us to partner with them, and it was such a joy to see so many familiar faces at the walk today.

We are already looking forward to next year’s event.

And a special shoutout to these two, we make a lot of calm down jars in our office, but these might just be two of the coolest ones yet!