OCD

Where to start

The GP is the route to an assessment, and to CBT with exposure work, the treatment that helps most; the school can help once it knows what it is seeing.

• Your GP. The gateway to everything the NHS offers a child: paediatric assessment, a referral to CAMHS, and support for you as the parent. Ask for a double appointment. Describe the pattern over weeks rather than the worst single day, and say plainly what you are worried about. Bring a written list; the ten minutes go quickly. www.nhs.uk/service-search/find-a-gp
• Your child’s school. The pastoral lead, the head of year, or the form tutor. Free, already knows your child, and often the quickest way to get something changed at school. Before or alongside anything else. A school cannot act on what it has not been told, and what you bring is often what it did not have.

For OCD

• OCD-UK. A national OCD charity run by people with lived experience: free workshops and online groups for parents, and email support. When your child has OCD and you want clear information, a free day’s workshop for parents, or a group of other parents who understand. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. OCD-UK 01332 588112 · Email Mon-Fri, with a reply within a working day; the phone line opens only on some days, 10am-2pm · Outside those hours the line is closed, and for now it opens only some days. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. www.ocduk.org/parents
• OCD Action. The UK’s largest OCD charity: a helpline, an online group for parents, groups for teenagers, and The Bridge for young people waiting for treatment. When OCD is taking over family life and you want to talk it through with someone who understands it, meet other parents online, or find a place on The Bridge for a teenager who is waiting for treatment. Charged at your standard call rate, not free. OCD Action helpline 0300 636 5478 · Mon-Fri 9.30am-8pm; leave a message if nobody answers and a volunteer calls back · Outside those hours the line is closed. OCD Action points anyone who needs urgent support to Samaritans, who answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. ocdaction.org.uk/i-need-support/carers
• YoungMinds. The UK’s young people’s mental health charity, with a free Parents Helpline, webchat and email, and a plain A to Z of the things parents worry about. When you want to talk through a worry about your child with someone who has heard it before, or read a clear first explanation of a named concern. Not a crisis line. Parents Helpline 0808 802 5544 · Mon, Thu, Fri 9.30am-4pm; Tue, Wed 9.30am-6pm · Webchat Mon-Fri 9.30am-4pm; email parents@youngminds.org.uk · Outside those hours the parents line is closed. The urgent routes on this page are open when it is not. www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-helpline
• Anna Freud. The Anna Freud Centre’s family wellbeing resources: careful, research-led reading on children’s emotional development, separation, self-care for parents, and supporting a child through treatment. When you want depth from a clinical source rather than a quick explainer. Reading only; there is no helpline. www.annafreud.org/resources/family-wellbeing

If you are considering private therapy

Waiting lists are long. If you can meet the cost, a registered therapist can usually be seen in weeks rather than months. Both registers below are accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, which is the thing to check before anything else.

• BACP Therapist Directory. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s public register. Search by area, by what you are bringing, and by whether the therapist works with children. www.bacp.co.uk/search/Therapists
• NCPS Therapist Directory. The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society’s register. Every therapist listed is qualified, supervised, insured, and accountable to a code of ethics. ncps.com/find-a-counsellor
• Kensington Square Therapy. Our own practice. We work with children, young people and parents, in person in London, online, and inside schools we partner with. www.kst.ltd

What to look for in a therapist, what a first session is like, and the questions worth asking before you commit, are set out at theparentbook.com/finding-a-therapist

Everything else

The full directory, across every subject, is at theparentbook.com/services. If a number here has changed, please tell us at hello@theparentbook.com and we will correct it.