Episode 16: Effective Treatment for Child Anxiety and OCD

🎧 Episode 16: “Effective Treatment for Child Anxiety and OCD”

Guest: Dr. Gretchen Hoyle, MD, Pediatrician
Host: Matt Butterman
Duration: ~30 minutes

Episode Summary:
Pediatric OCD is often misunderstood as simply a behavioral issue—but it’s a deeply distressing neuropsychiatric condition that can significantly impair a child’s daily functioning and family dynamics. In this episode, Matt Butterman welcomes back pediatrician Dr. Gretchen Hoyle to explore how obsessive-compulsive disorder manifests in children and teens—and how parents can compassionately and effectively respond.

Dr. Hoyle walks us through the groundbreaking SPACE program (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) developed by Dr. Eli Leibovitz, and how it shifts the burden of change away from the child and onto the parent’s behaviors—especially in the realm of accommodations. From sleep rituals and school avoidance to sibling dynamics, Dr. Hoyle illustrates how supportive, structured parental changes can reduce anxiety and promote independence in children struggling with OCD.

Key Topics Covered:

• ✅ What is Pediatric OCD?
  Differentiating between developmentally normal rituals and pathological compulsions that interfere with functioning.
  
  

• 🧠 The Power of Accommodation:
  How well-intentioned parental responses—like sleeping next to a child or adjusting family routines—can unintentionally reinforce anxiety and compulsions.
  
  

• 📘 Introducing the SPACE Program:
  A parent-based treatment that focuses on supportive but firm changes in accommodating behavior. Parents—not children—become the agents of change.
  
  

• 🛏️ Bedtime Battles & Sleep Independence:
  Why elaborate sleep rituals often lead to middle-of-the-night awakenings and how to gradually and compassionately help kids fall asleep independently.
  
  

• 👨‍👩‍👧 Family and Sibling Dynamics:
  How siblings are often pulled into OCD rituals and why parents should relieve them from that burden while focusing on changing their own behaviors.
  
  

• 🛠️ Practical Tools for Parents:
  Dr. Hoyle shares examples from the book Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD—including scripts, worksheets, and how to plan for incremental wins.
  
  

3 Salient Facts about Pediatric OCD:

1. 🧠 Pediatric OCD affects about 1–2% of children and adolescents, often beginning between ages 8 and 12 or during the teen years.
   
   

2. 🚫 OCD is not “just being neat”—it’s a serious anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts and repetitive, ritualized behaviors that children feel powerless to stop.
   
   

3. 💡 Many children with OCD go undiagnosed for years due to stigma, normalization of their rituals, or mistaking symptoms for personality quirks or behavior problems.
   
   

Resources Mentioned:

📘 Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD by Dr. Eli Leibovitz – Available here
🧠 Learn more about the SPACE program – spaceforanxiety.com
🖥️ Visit: www.nimbleyouthpodcast.com for show notes and links to all episodes.

Takeaway Message:
Parents don’t have to wait for their child to “want to change.” By shifting their own behaviors and reducing accommodations, parents can empower their children to tolerate distress, gain independence, and ultimately break free from anxiety’s grip.