What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming OCD

I am a therapist specializing in OCD treatment. I am one of the few in our area who will treat children. The children that I have shared this book with are happy to recognize their own "stuck" thoughts in the illustrated pages. I have had adults purchase the book as well because it simplifies and clarifies an oftentimes misunderstood and debilitating disorder. I especially love how the OCD monster is pictures as a furry little creature with bad teeth and a top hat. He peeks around chairs, hides out, gorges on candy bars, and generally makes life miserable for kids with OCD. But when a child challenges the monster, there is an illustration of him jumping in the air in terror himself, as now a child is empowered and talks back to the monster. This change in behavior rattles the monster and he retreats because the child is no longer playing by the monster's rules. I actually had a 10 year old client get a monster doll to place in another chair and talk to. This book visually is appealing and its text simplifies for young and old that the tricks of the OCD monster can be foiled with cognitive behavioral therapy. It's a good workbook because children can draw in it and answer questions. I highly recommend this book, in fact, I think its my favorite of all the many books on OCD that I have collected. Of course, my hero Fred Penzel cannot be topped with the incredible information and examples shared in his book, and Jonathan Grayson's is full of beneficial information as well. Don't forget Bruce Hyman and Cherry Pedrick with the OCD workbook, another outstanding reference and a way for an OCD sufferer without qualified therapists in the area where he or she lives, to do self work on ERP in order to talk back to the monster and regain freedom in life.

The book was extremely well written, geared towards 7-12 year olds with OCD. Not sure if it was intentional or not, but there were a handful of typos in the book

According to statistics, OCD in children is more prevalent than most realize. After my 13 year old son was diagnosed with OCD a year ago, I purchased this book for him. It seemed juvenile at the time but proved to be quite valuable in helping him understand he's not alone and that his symptoms started at a younger age than he realized because he could not put his symptoms into words at such a young age. After medication and therapy, he became symptom-free in less than 6 months. Now, my 11 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with OCD a month ago - almost a year ago to the day as my son. We already know that OCD is hereditary. I immediately purchased this book again for my daughter this time. She finds it very helpful and loves doing the exercises in the book. She feels like the book knows exactly what she is going through and helps explain it to her in simple enough terms that she "gets it" but not too simple that it's boring. My daughter's psychiatrist has her using this book as part of her therapy. My daughter works in this book every day to help her push past the confusion and help her on the road to recovery. We are hopeful that this book, along with medication and therapy, that she too will be symptom-free in no time just like her brother. The psychiatrist took the title of the book and is now suggesting the purchase of this book to all of her patients diagnosed with OCD. It really is a helpful tool!

This has helped give my child essential tools that she desperately needed. Most of all it’s taken away the stigma of OCD that’s she’s the only one.

This is a good book to simplify the concept of OCD for your child. Even though it focuses on some of the more common forms of OCD and didn't specifically target my child's compulsions/rituals, it helped explain a lot about OCD for her. A great starting point for kids to start taking control of their OCD. She's 10 and recently diagnosed. I've caught her re-reading through this workbook and am hoping she starts practicing "Talking Back" to her OCD soon.

I purchased this book because my 12 year old had OCD behaviors. Shortly after we got the book our daughter was diagnosed with PANDAS. This book does not have all the answers for parents, but it is not written for us. It is written for the child. My only problem with the book is that my daughter or rather her OCD is easily influenced. The doctor describe how he had patients who washed their hands 50 times. We had a few days of hand washing incidents, but luckily it didn't materialize too much. I put tabs on pages in the book to indicate what I should skip over so as not to influence her OCD. It was hard getting her to work in it initially only because it is very hard to resist OCD, and she simply didn't want to do the work. (She refused to go to a therapist.) She likes to draw, so the pages that ask for the child to write a list or draw is appealing to her. This book is not perfect, but I know of nothing else of this format, and it is working for us. That is all that counts, which is why I gave it five stars. This book is short, appealing to a child, and easy to use. Plus it doesn't have any sexual content. It states that it is for children up to 12 years, but I think depending on the child an older one could benefit from it too.

Our sons psychologist recommended this book. We used it int therapy and at home. This resources combined with our amazing psychologist has literally changed our lives. All praises to God!

This works. It’s easy to read and easy to understand. Perfect for younger kids. Huge help. Buy it.