What to Do When You Have a Tricky, Sticky, Picky Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Strategies to Help Kids with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

OCD is a trickster—but kids don’t have to play by its rules.

What do you do when your child has a “tricky, sticky, picky” brain? The kind of brain that talks them into doing certain rituals over and over again or obsesses over what the “right” or “best” choice is?

That’s exactly what you’ll learn in What to Do When You Have a Tricky, Sticky, Picky Brain, which explains how to overcome the common “tricks” and “traps” that OCD uses to gain control. Intended for kids aged 8–13, it is filled with exercises, worksheets, and tools to help kids recognize common thinking traps, stop giving in to compulsions, and replace both with real strategies that will help them find relief.

Grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP), this book addresses both common and lesser-known OCD presentations, including:

• Contamination concerns
• Perfectionism or “just right” symptoms
• Compulsive checking
• Scary, intrusive, or taboo thoughts
• Morality, religion, and existential rumination

By learning OCD’s playbook—becoming familiar with all the sneaky tricks that OCD likes to use—kids can stay one step ahead and outsmart their “tricky, sticky, picky” brain once and for all.

Marni L. Jacob, PhD, ABPP, is a board-certified, licensed psychologist and the owner of the Jacob Center for Evidence-Based Treatment in Boca Raton, Florida, which specializes in the treatment of OCD, OCD-spectrum disorders, anxiety disorders, and phobias in children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Jacob also trains others in OCD treatment as a faculty member of the International OCD Foundation’s training institute.