"How can my 13 year old have OCD?"

My daughter, was in P7 when Covid hit. She missed all her High School transition events, end of term Leaver’s Party and saying goodbye to the school she’d been at for the last 7 years. Everyone thought the children were handling all this very well.

They got to Secondary School then a few months in were hit with another Lockdown. More disruption and upheaval. My daughter, who had sailed through primary school without any dramas, was quietly hiding a secret. 

One day she came to me and said she thought she had OCD. I wondered what exactly she wanted me to do about it? Her dad is a tidy freak and I just assumed she was taking after him. I explained we all have a bit of OCD about things. She got cross with me and walked away. On several occasions since this first conversation she came to me but each time was being more concerned and adamant she wanted a doctor appointment to get an OCD diagnosis.

I was beginning to get frustrated with her. Then I asked her what made her think she needed to see a doctor. Her answer shocked me. She proceeded to tell me all the things she was doing that was affecting her life and thoughts. She was constantly fixing chairs, plumping cushions, moving coasters, ornaments and picture frames into certain positions, lining up table mats so they were centred and not squint. The list goes on. The worst one which was affecting her the most was the routine/ritual she had developed when doing the dishes. It took her 2 hours and if anything broke the routine she would start all over again! She had been masking all these rituals and I was really disappointed in myself for not noticing. I felt so guilty. These rituals were preventing her from going out and being with friends. She couldn’t leave the house until she had completed her rituals. She was always late to get places and often decided to cancel get-togethers. 

We contacted our GP who suggested speaking to Guidance. Together they decided a CAMHS referral would be beneficial for her. 

When we had our first appointment I was impressed at how openly and maturely my daughter explained her situation, thoughts and feelings. Jill the nurse made us feel so relaxed and comfortable which really helped. 

She selected Lisa Ingram to work with my daughter as she was very experienced in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Jill felt they would get on well. 

When we met Lisa we were instantly put at ease. She and my daughter clicked straight away. I felt pleased that my daughter was able to speak openly to Lisa. Lisa knew all the right things to say.  She wrote very detailed notes about everything  was saying to her. She really wanted to know all the details and get to know my daughter so she could give her the best help and advice possible. 

We started with weekly appointments which then moved to fortnightly. I went along to the first few meetings then my daughter was happy to see Lisa on her own. 

Lisa spoke to to guidance teacher as well and offered her some advice which would help my daughter through her anxieties over exams and tests at school. She did a couple of home visits as well to see how she behaved in her own environment and could witness some of the rituals. 

She came up with a plan and strategies to help with her compulsive thoughts, gave us books to read and recommended other books/journals to buy which would help. 

My daughter was very driven to help herself to get well and Lisa was the person who helped her get there. We can’t thank her enough!

My daughter had 9 months of appointments with Lisa and I am astonished at what they achieved in such a relatively short space of time. We were sad when it was time to stop the appointments and lots of my daughter's rituals had begun to creep in again. I think she was a bit anxious about having to give up Lisa’s support. However, she knew she was ready to. She had lots of information and strategies she could refer back to. 

It has been almost 3 months since her last appointment and she is doing great. She still has moments where she is fixing the furniture and re-doing the dishes but it is not affecting her life the way it did before. She is seeing her friends lots more than before and she is so happy now. 

Overall, we are delighted with the service we received from the CAMHS team. They have been a godsend and turned out lives around. 

Thank you Lisa.