When a child is diagnosed with OCD, there is much the parents often do to help their child manage their condition. Parents ensure that medication is taken, schedule and ensure appointments are kept, and regularly assess the well being of their child. For a teenager to face the challenges of adulthood and independence, they should ideally have strategies in place to help them transition from a dynamic in which parents manage their illness to assuming control of their own OCD on a personal level. This workshop will explore the challenges teenagers and their parents face when dealing with the transition to independent living. The workshop will include a discussion about important psychological considerations affecting teenagers and their transitions as well as their challenges in managing their own mental illness, and an opportunity to discuss challenging scenarios which can be common to families facing these challenges. There will be emphasis on concrete practical strategies for both teens as well as their parents. The panelists will include a a teenager with OCD, and his mother, a physician and medical educator. At the conclusion of the workshop, attendees will be asked to list ways they can help ensure a successful transition for either themselves or their child as they face adulthood.
Learning objectives:
Attendees will identify challenges in managing mental illness while transitioning to adulthood
Attendees will recognize how they can help ensure a successful transition and helpful ways teenagers can independently manage their OCD as they become independent adults.
