116. Shedding Light on Childhood Anxiety and OCD with Dr. Stephen Whiteside

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June 11, 2024 • 23 mins

Parenting can be really hard when your child is dealing with anxiety or OCD. Ever stayed up late worrying about them? It feels like a big, confusing maze, doesn't it? But don't worry, you're not alone.

In today’s episode of The OCD Whisperer Podcast, we are thrilled to sit down with Dr. Stephen Whiteside, a renowned clinical psychologist and a beacon of hope for families grappling with childhood anxiety and OCD.

During the conversation we talk about his book "Anxiety Coach" and his specialized approach to treating childhood anxiety and OCD. We explore the importance of exposure therapy, the role of parents in treatment, and the challenges of diagnosing OCD in children. Dr. Whiteside shares insights on the stigma surrounding OCD and the benefits of group therapy, while emphasizing privacy in group settings. He discusses the effectiveness of his parent coach exposure therapy, citing research and positive outcomes from the Mayo Clinic's intensive treatment program. Resources and support options are highlighted, including the Anxiety Coach at Mayo Clinic website, which offers educational tools and details about their five-day intensive program. The episode concludes with encouragement for those on their journey to overcoming OCD.

In This Episode

[01:11] The Anxiety Coach Book
[02:07] Differences in approach
[04:13] Components of the approach
[07:40] Content of the book
[08:32] Identifying anxiety disorders
[10:39] Signs in pediatric population
[12:25] Challenges in diagnosing OCD
[14:56] Therapist misinterpretation of OCD
[16:00] Stigma and judgment
[16:59] Benefits of group therapy
[18:34] Outcomes of parent-coached exposures
[21:14] Empowering families

Notable Quotes

[02:11] "The main component of the treatment for anxiety or OCD is helping kids learn through their own experience that what they're afraid of is unlikely to happen, and they can handle feeling nervous, worried, or uncomfortable until those feelings go away."- Dr. Stephen Whiteside

[03:08] "We think that all kids will be more successful if they have someone to help them at home, and parents want to know what to do to be helpful."- Dr. Stephen Whiteside
[09:55] "When fears and worries are excessive to the point that they're making life hard, distressing the child, or getting in the way of the parents' life, that's the time we need to start working on it."- Dr. Stephen Whiteside
[16:59] "It's like this happens often enough that somebody wrote it down in a book, so I am clearly not the only one."- Dr. Stephen Whiteside
[18:34] "We have some pretty good answers to that, but a lot more research needs to be done in general around child mental health."- Dr. Stephen Whiteside
[21:14] "It's obvious to me that parents can learn to do this, and kids and parents can learn to do this together."- Dr. Stephen Whiteside

Our Guest

Dr. Stephen Whiteside is a Board Certified Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, directs the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders Program. With extensive experience in treating child, adolescent, and adult anxiety disorders, he's received grants from the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation for neuroimaging studies on OCD. Dr. Whiteside's research focuses on childhood anxiety and treatment efficacy, reflected in numerous publications and national presentations.

Resources & Links

Kristina Orlova, LMFT