Therapeutic Boarding Schools for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2025 9:35 am
Step on a crack, break your mother's back. A child with obsessive-compulsive disorder may actually believe that is true and develop a careful ritual of stepping on every single crack he ever encounters.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by obsessive, unwanted thoughts that lead to compulsive behaviors. For example, a child who constantly worries about germs and death will wash her hands many times a day. Another child will believe in the magic of "five" and maintain rituals such as taking five bites of his sandwich, eating only five French fries, and counting to five before he eats. The compulsive behaviors often are counting, hoarding, rechecking the same things or cleansing rituals.
Physicians believe that OCD is an anxiety disorder, probably caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. It affects about 5.5 million Americans, which equals between two and three percent of the population.
Teenagers sometimes begin obsessive-compulsive behaviors email data a trauma such as parental divorce or a death in the family. This disorder often "travels" with other psychological maladies such as depression and anorexia. The rituals often interfere with the teen's life and take up time that should be spent on healthy activities and self-growth. They may cause the teen to restrict herself to her home, or to fail academically.
Teens with OCD can benefit from cognitive behavior therapy, exposure and ritual prevention therapy, medications, and in rare cases, psychosurgery. Some boarding schools have programs for teens with this disorder.
PROS
Working on a 24-hour basis with live-in therapists can achieve great improvements within a short time. The child gains skills in independence.
A boarding school that has small class sizes and individual attention can ease some of the child's academic anxiety.
CONS
Teens with high anxiety levels often have trouble separating from home.
Only a few residential treatment schools specialize in this disorder. You have to be careful that the staff understands OCD and is equipped to treat it.
Teens with OCD are often nervous, naïve and/or religious. They should not be placed with overly aggressive students or those with severe psychiatric problems.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by obsessive, unwanted thoughts that lead to compulsive behaviors. For example, a child who constantly worries about germs and death will wash her hands many times a day. Another child will believe in the magic of "five" and maintain rituals such as taking five bites of his sandwich, eating only five French fries, and counting to five before he eats. The compulsive behaviors often are counting, hoarding, rechecking the same things or cleansing rituals.
Physicians believe that OCD is an anxiety disorder, probably caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. It affects about 5.5 million Americans, which equals between two and three percent of the population.
Teenagers sometimes begin obsessive-compulsive behaviors email data a trauma such as parental divorce or a death in the family. This disorder often "travels" with other psychological maladies such as depression and anorexia. The rituals often interfere with the teen's life and take up time that should be spent on healthy activities and self-growth. They may cause the teen to restrict herself to her home, or to fail academically.
Teens with OCD can benefit from cognitive behavior therapy, exposure and ritual prevention therapy, medications, and in rare cases, psychosurgery. Some boarding schools have programs for teens with this disorder.
PROS
Working on a 24-hour basis with live-in therapists can achieve great improvements within a short time. The child gains skills in independence.
A boarding school that has small class sizes and individual attention can ease some of the child's academic anxiety.
CONS
Teens with high anxiety levels often have trouble separating from home.
Only a few residential treatment schools specialize in this disorder. You have to be careful that the staff understands OCD and is equipped to treat it.
Teens with OCD are often nervous, naïve and/or religious. They should not be placed with overly aggressive students or those with severe psychiatric problems.