Jan 2, 2008 6:23 pm US/Eastern
UPMC Offers Treatment Program For Kids With OCD
(KDKA)
Obsessive compulsive disorder is an illness that causes unwanted thoughts and repetitive behaviors.
Experts say the anxiety disorder affects about two percent of children and adults.
Lizzie Rogers, 17, of Moon Township describes her OCD as normal teenage anxiety multiplied by 100.
"I had this really big thing - I thought, like over-thought everything, like I didn't sleep at night 'cause I was thinking so much," says Rogers. "I'd replay everything in my head and it just got to the point where like, this isn't normal."
Dr. Andrew Gilbert says UPMC has one of the few programs in the country that offers intensive outpatient OCD treatment just for kids.
"We've come a long way in recognizing this disorder in childhood and adolescence," says Dr. Gilbert. "And we have some really good evidence supporting particular treatments that appear to be very effective."
Through cognitive - behavioral therapy, kids learn how their thoughts are leading to anxiety, researchers say. Then, in the exposures room, they face what triggers their OCD and learn how to cope.
"Because what we're trying to teach them to do is habituate," says Dr. Gilbert. "Habituation is a phenomenon that involves getting used to discomfort, getting used to anxiety. We all do it."
"You realize that it's not that bad and nothing bad is going to happen if you don't do it or if you do it," he adds.
But Rogers says her OCD still comes up every day.
Dr. Gilbert says he is currently doing a brain imaging study to look for changes in brain patterns when the symptoms of OCD are provoked.
He hopes measuring brain activity will help researchers better understand and treat OCD.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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