Therapy for a reluctant child

[Anonymous]

My 11 year old needs therapy for anxiety and OCD so bad. He is in guanfacine and an SSRI. His anxiety is so bad that he can’t tolerate ADHD stimulants. He refuses to participate in therapy. We’ve tried play therapy, office therapy, even equine therapy. I don’t know what to do. He needs it but I can’t force him. Has anyone else been in this situation?

[Anonymous]

Therapy won’t work if he doesn’t want to go. Have you tried implementing The Explosive child methods at home first?

[Anonymous]

My 12 year has been in therapy since 2nd grade, and it took a long time for us to tell if it was doing anything. One thing that helped was going to group therapy sessions with the same therapist who sees him for individual sessions. It is much easier for him to say “me too” than to talk about his own feelings first. It provides a good jumping off point for their individual sessions.

[Anonymous]

We stopped therapy for years because DS just wouldn’t talk, but now my son is 17 and we are starting up again, he’s slightly more reasonable and mature now.

[Anonymous]

You have to find someone that can build a connection to him. My son's best therapist played minecraft and roblox with him. Seems odd but as they were playing he would talk. Eventually she was able to move him off the games and onto walks. And then finally into the office for what we think of as traditional therapy. Even in the office though there was always another activity that he could do in addition to talking--puzzles, figits, board games. He was 7 when he started with her.

[Anonymous]

Look up SPACE therapy for treating OCD. It is parent training and is supposedly as effective as therapy for the kid.