As if OCD isn't challenging enough....how do find and get the best treatment??

[Catx]

Funny photo not associated with post but just because we all need a laugh!

As if OCD isn't challenging enough....how do find and get the best treatment?? This post isn't the ANSWER to that question but rather my journey in trying to answer that question...

As the Mom of an 18 year old daughter I am so thankful for so many great resources, professionals ready to share their expertise, OCD suffers that share their experiences and effective treatment programs available. This type of community is what is prompting me to share my journey as we move through this OCD tunnel together with our daughter -- for the other Moms/Dads or OCD sufferers starting down the same path my husband and I found ourselves on...

I will say that the journey to getting what you feel is the best, most effective treatment for you or your loved one can be a bit cumbersome to say the least.

Here is my experience in trying to do so:

- DETERMINING THE BEST RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM: Once it was decided that my daughter needed residential care, after investigation we determined McLean OCDi and Rogers were the very best for OCD treatment. Though admittedly this is only because of forums like this one and hearing and seeing those two over and over as we researched OCD treatment programs. How do you REALLY compare? Rogers has "Treatment Outcomes" on their web page rogersbh.org/why-choose-us/... where they measure OCD Anxiety when patients are admitted to the program, when they are discharged and after a 12-month follow-up, based on the Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS). (And the exciting thing here is that anxiety levels are reported as further diminished at the 12-month follow-up vs Discharge -- so it actually gets BETTER over time. This is great - but where is Mclean OCDi YBOCS Treatment Outcomes for OCD? I can't find it (but now that I type this I will ask them for it). So yea, anyway - how do you really compare? That all said, we landed on Mclean OCDi.

- GETTING IN THE DOOR: But wait, not so fast. Deciding is one thing, actually being admitted is quite another. We found there is a 3-month wait. Not great news when of course everyone's waited until OCD is so bad that your loved one is begging you to do something to help them. (Had we known about the wait time I would've gotten her on the wait list long before as I suspected that a residential treatment option might be required). So we get on the wait, and then call ROGERS as well since waiting is going to be difficult and they were also rated very highly for treatment of OCD - ah, but alas, same 3-month wait. (note to Parents that are wondering if OCD will escalate and residential might be needed- GET ON THE WAIT LIST NOW, if things have improved by the time admission is open you can always happily decline!)

- THE WAITING: So as we wait for the program my husband and I make a few more accommodations for our daughter, and a few more, and a few more, being sympathetic to our daughter as she suffers OCD and can't yet get the treatment she needs (yes, she tried intensive outpatient ERP treatment etc.) The OCD gets worse and worse as we all give in and cater to it to hopefully alleviate some of her suffering (yes we know what happens when you give in to OCD and it probably wasn't our wisest decision to do so). It seems to me these programs that have you wait 3 months might have some type of over the phone pre-program that coaches parents and patients on what to do during their wait so they are set-up well for a successful entry into the program. (I know I will be told that she should be seeing her therapist locally during this time but she had been and she felt it wasn't helping so -- there's that.)

- THREE MONTHS IS A LONG TIME - Examining other treatment options as we begin to realize how long 3 months can be when you are living with OCD, we hear about the 4-day Bergen treatment which we are huge advocates of, but, alas, you have to live in Houston and, now the research program is concluded as of December 2019 so it is no longer available (they are meeting 3rd week in January to determine how it will be packaged and available in 2020 - meanwhile, we wait). But wait! She can check into Houston OCD program NOW - oh wait, she isn't yet 18? We have to wait for her 18th birthday in 12 days. Still better though a 12 day wait instead of a 3 month wait. But wait, here is another hurdle - as soon as she checks in to Houston OCD program, the 4-day Bergen treatment that she would love to do will no longer be available to her, as their guidelines stipulate you can't be a patient at Houston OCD house - perhaps because they are both together there in the same office and need to keep research findings for the new 4-day Bergen treatment program clean. So I wonder...how come Houston OCD program is so much easier then to get into than McLean and Rogers? It might just be because of the NEXT HURDLE to be faced in this journey to treatment.....THE COST.

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I am sorry to know that you are having a hard time with finding the best residential program for your daughter.

I went to Rogers in Wisconsin for Residential Treatment.

I did well over there, but I did not have any follow-up therapy, when I returned back home.

I had a big relapse, and all my symptoms came back.

I can understand how challenging it is with the struggles to help your child.

I suffer from OCD and it is a very painful disorder.

I admire the amount of research that you have put in, to find the best treatment place.

Hoping that you will find the best treatment place, with good results for your child.

Take Care.

[Catx in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for sharing with me with your journey. I'm so glad you did well at Rogers and sorry to hear your symptoms came back. I hope you don't give up and continue to fight the good fight over OCD and ultimate win the war -- I've read multiple accounts like yours but that ultimately end in victory. Best wishes to you!!