AT Parenting Survival | Raising Kids with OCD & Anxiety

When you’re parenting a child with OCD or anxiety, life can start to feel like one long crisis response. You may find yourself constantly managing meltdowns, fears, compulsions—and feeling like there’s no room for rest, laughter, or lightness. But even in the hard seasons, moments of peace and joy can exist. In this episode, I’ll share:  Why joy and connection aren’t signs you’re ignoring you...

Traveling with kids who have mental health or special needs can feel overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be. In this episode, I talk with Hana Seyoum, founder of World of Possibilities Travel and a Certified Autism Travel Professional. Hana shares practical advice for families looking to travel with more ease, less stress, and a whole lot more joy. We talk about how to prepare ahead of time, what...

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Cristi Bundukamara—known as Dr. B—the founder of Mentally STRONG and creator of the Raising Mentally STRONG Kids program. We explore what it really means to build resilience, starting with her own journey through personal loss and what it taught her about mental strength. Dr. B shares practical strategies parents can use to tap into their own resilience and mod...

Bedtime shouldn’t feel like a battleground—but for many families raising a child with OCD, nighttime is when the OCD compulsions ramp up and take over. In this episode, child therapist and OCD parenting expert Natasha Daniels breaks down the most common nighttime OCD compulsions that trap both kids and parents in exhausting loops. You’ll learn: What nighttime OCD rituals look like (and why they’re...

Child OCD Therapy is important—but it’s not the whole answer. In this episode, child therapist and OCD parent Natasha Daniels explains why therapy alone isn’t enough to help a child with OCD truly thrive.  You’ll learn how your daily responses can either empower your child’s progress—or unintentionally grow their OCD.  Discover practical ways to become a supportive, confident, and crucia...

Is your child saying things like: I don’t feel real? Is this a dream? Am I dead? Is this really happening? They may be experiencing depersonalization, a common but often misunderstood symptom in children with OCD and anxiety. In this episode, I break down what depersonalization looks like in kids with OCD and anxiety, why it happens, and—most importantly—how you can help. Whether it’s tied to pani...

Confidence can take a major hit when a child is struggling with OCD or anxiety. In this episode, I sit down with teen coach Sharon West to explore how we can nurture self-confidence in our kids—even as they battle intrusive thoughts, worry, and fear. Sharon shares insights from her 15+ years working with teens—as a life coach, foster mom, youth leader, and mom of three. Together, we talk about how...

Tiffany Jenkins has been the authentic face of mental health struggles on the internet for years. She offers a candid, raw and often humorous view on her struggles of sobriety and mental health, helping normalize these issues for millions of people. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to have Tiffany back on the AT Parenting Survival Podcast to discuss her new book, A Clean Mess, and dive deepe...

Is it autism or OCD? Sometimes the behaviors can look so similar, it’s hard to tell. In this episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I break down the key differences between autism and child OCD — and why understanding the distinction is crucial for getting the right support. You’ll learn: Why repetitive behaviors show up in both autism and OCD (but for very different reasons) How motivation...

When you’re trying to support a child with OCD, communication is everything. But sometimes, even with the best intentions, we accidentally shut it down.  In this episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I’ll walk you through four common OCD communication stoppers—like punishing, over-rationalizing, or jumping straight into coaching—and explain why they backfire.  Learn how to foster...

Raising a child with anxiety or OCD can feel incredibly isolating. Parents often find themselves without the support, education, or guidance they desperately need. In this episode, I’m diving into the three key areas where parents struggle most—and how my AT Parenting Community is designed to fill those gaps. Here’s what we cover in this episode: The crushing isolation that comes with parenting a...

OCD thrives on urgency. The faster your child reacts to an intrusive thought, the more powerful OCD becomes. But what if your child learned to pause—even for a few seconds—before doing an OCD compulsion? In this episode, I’ll walk you through how to introduce the concept of “delay” as a gentle, approachable first step in helping your child take back control. You’ll learn how to teach it, what to e...

In this episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Sara Conley, a licensed clinical psychologist and clinical manager at NOCD , to discuss a groundbreaking new study on virtual Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy for children and teens with OCD. We explore the study’s powerful findings—including a 37.3% median reduction in OCD symptoms in just 13 sessions—and how...

If your child refuses to shower, melts down over clothing, or avoids homework, you might assume they’re being defiant. But what if it’s actually OCD driving their behavior?  In this episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast for Anxiety and OCD, I break down how OCD-driven avoidance and compulsions can look like oppositional behavior—and why this misunderstanding is so common. You’ll learn:...

If your child has OCD, you’ve likely witnessed an OCD-driven meltdown—intense distress triggered by an intrusive thought, fear, or the inability to complete a compulsion. These meltdowns can be overwhelming for both you and your child. And while it’s natural to want to soothe their anxiety in the moment, some responses can unintentionally reinforce OCD. In this AT Parenting Survival Podcast episod...

Anxiety and OCD can abruptly put the brakes on our children’s education. This is one of the most disruptive and concerning aspects of our children’s OCD or anxiety. It is a slippery slope that can gain momentum and get out of control rather quickly. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I explore how to identify the core fear around school refusal, how to decipher if it is a school issue v...

How do we help our children with OCD have a better quality of life? Our child’s OCD is more than just Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) therapy. It is more than just their intrusive thoughts and their compulsions. How do we help them with self-esteem? The feeling of guilt and shame? The struggles of navigating school and family relationships?  In Dr. Jonathan Abramowitz’s new book, Living We...

There is nothing more disruptive and upsetting than OCD latching on to a loved one. Contamination isn’t just about germs - it can be about people, people our kids love. Families get thrown into chaos when OCD decides a parent or sibling is the source of contamination. Out of all themes, this one has the power to upend the entire family.  In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore...

Struggling with Anxiety and OCD can make kids feel hopeless. Hopelessness can lead to depression and a lack of motivation to work on their issues. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore what causes hopelessness in our kids with OCD and anxiety and what we can do to help them navigate those emotions. 📍 Come visit me in Arizona this weekend! Get your tickets to the OCD Gamechangers...

As you become more educated about anxiety and OCD, you most likely will start seeing it all around you. It can be hard to stomach seeing a child struggling with anxiety or OCD, especially if their parents aren’t aware of what they are truly dealing with. So what do you do in those situations? I actually get asked that question more often than you might think!  In this week’s AT Parenting Surv...

I quickly fell in love with Mel Robbins’ book The Let Them Theory. It is such a simple, and yet powerful approach to living your life. Throughout the book I thought about how the Let Them Theory could be adapted to parents, and in particular, those of us raising kids with anxiety or OCD. I started to implement this approach with my kids in a child friendly way. It made a huge impact on how I showe...

OCD can convince our kids that they have control over the uncontrollable. That is at the heart of magical thinking OCD compulsions. Magical thinking is when OCD convinces a person that if they do or don’t do something - they can prevent something from happening.  That something could be literally anything related to their theme. They might be preventing themselves from throwing up. They might...

Not every OCD theme is about a fear, sometimes it is about a feeling . That is the case with Tourettic OCD. Tourettic OCD is not triggered by an intrusive thought, but rather a somatic urge . Compulsions can include sudden, repetitive movements or vocalizations. It can be tricky to figure out what is a tic and what is tourettic OCD. That is why I invited Dr. John Piacentini to the show. Dr. John P...

Effective communication is one of the most essential aspects of parenting a child with OCD or anxiety. When communication breaks down, our ability to support them directly becomes limited. The way we communicate, the words we choose, and our ability to read our child’s cues while respecting their pace all play a crucial role in how effective that communication will be. In this week’s AT Parenting...

We don’t just leave our childhood in the past. It comes with us, altering our lens of how we view life. This includes how we view and interact with our child’s anxiety or OCD. When we learn to identify the “smudges” our childhood is adding to our lens, we are better able to separate out our issues from our child’s issues, becoming more present and intentional in the moment. In this episode of the...