Treatment

Treating Pediatric OCD

If you have a patient presenting with the symptoms listed here with a more gradual onset or in the absence of any active infection:

Team up with an OCD specialist to help create a treatment plan.

• A licensed mental health professional will use effective and empirically validated therapies for OCD, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP), to treat the OCD symptoms.
  • Visit the IOCDF’s Resource Directory to find an OCD specialist in your area.
• Psychiatric medication such as serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) may be used where warranted due to symptom severity. Click here to read more about treating pediatric OCD with medication.

Treating PANDAS/PANS

Acute-onset OCD (PANDAS/PANS) is not the typical presentation of pediatric OCD. If you have a patient presenting with the symptoms listed here with a sudden onset:

Test, treat, & team up

• Test for active infections, especially strep, within 3 weeks of onset.
  • If clinically indicated, additionally test for mycoplasma, mononucleosis, Lyme disease, or H1N1.
• Treat any active infections thoroughly.
  • Use antibiotics to treat active infections according to the standards of care for each infectious agent.
  • Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) may be recommended for severe or persistent cases.
• Team up with an OCD specialist to help create a treatment plan.
  • A licensed mental health professional will use a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) called exposure and response prevention (ERP) to treat the OCD symptoms.
  • Visit the IOCDF’s Resource Directory to find an OCD specialist in your area.

Download our guide to diagnosis and treatment as a print-friendly PDF.