OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder education and treatment.

What We Can Do to Help Your Child

If your child has been recently diagnoised with OCD or your current school does not meet your child's special needs please contact us. Montgomery Academy is equipped to appeal to the more unconventional student by offering a more unconventional format in which to learn. While we do use textbooks and employ the more traditional styles of teaching, these are not the only, nor the primary, means of educating. Whenever and wherever possible hands-on, experiential techniques are used. Building models, dioramas, exploring the campus environment, role playing, field trips, cooking, and other hands on methods are used regularly. Our classrooms and halls reflect what is being studied, drawings, murals, reports and projects are all proudly displayed.

Treatment Options

OCD will not go away by itself, so it is important to seek treatment. The most effective approach to treating OCD combines medications with cognitive-behavior therapy.

* Cognitive behavior therapy : The goal of cognitive behavior therapy is to teach people with OCD to confront their fears and reduce anxiety without performing the ritual behaviors (called exposure therapy or exposure and response prevention therapy). Therapy also focuses on reducing the exaggerated or catastrophic thinking that often occurs in people with OCD.
* Medication therapy : Tricyclic antidepressants, such as Anafranil, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, such as Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft may be helpful in treating OCD.

In severe cases of OCD and in people who do not respond to medical and behavioral therapy, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or psychosurgery may be used to treat OCD. During ECT, electrodes are attached to the patient's head, and a series of electric shocks are delivered to the brain, which induce seizures. The seizures cause the release of neurotransmitters in the brain.

What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a type of anxiety disorder, is a potentially disabling illness that traps people in endless cycles of repetitive thoughts and behaviors. People with OCD are plagued by recurring and distressing thoughts, fears, or images (obsessions) that they cannot control. The anxiety (nervousness) produced by these thoughts leads to an urgent need to perform certain rituals or routines (compulsions). The compulsive rituals are performed in an attempt to prevent the obsessive thoughts or make them go away.

Although the ritual may make the anxiety go away temporarily, the person must perform the ritual again when the obsessive thoughts return. This OCD cycle can progress to the point of taking up hours of the person's day and significantly interfering with normal activities. People with OCD may be aware that their obsessions and compulsions are senseless or unrealistic, but they cannot stop themselves.

What are the symtoms?

Common obsessions include:
* Fear of dirt or contamination by germs.
* Fear of causing harm to another.
* Fear of making a mistake.
* Fear of being embarrassed or behaving in a socially unacceptable manner.
* Fear of thinking evil or sinful thoughts.
* Need for order, symmetry, or exactness.
* Excessive doubt and the need for constant reassurance.

Common compulsions include:
* Repeatedly bathing, showering, or washing hands.
* Refusing to shake hands or touch doorknobs.
* Repeatedly checking things, such as locks or stoves.
* Constant counting, mentally or aloud, while performing routine tasks.
* Constantly arranging things in a certain way.
* Eating foods in a specific order.
* Being stuck on words, images or thoughts, usually disturbing, that won't go away and can interfere with sleep.
* Repeating specific words, phrases, or prayers.
* Needing to perform tasks a certain number of times.
* Collecting or hoarding items with no apparent value.

Though we follow New Jersey’s Core Content Curriculum Standards, we are able to remain creative and flexible in our approaches to the subject matter. Please read about our programs.

• Instructional Programs
• Transitional Programs
• Therapeutic Programs
• Guidance Counseling
• Summer Programs

Our holistic, custom-tailored, arts and technology rich approach uses innovative hands-on teaching methods delivered with sensitivity in small, dynamic classrooms on a serene mountain top in pastoral Mendham Township.

Come and see how we can help your son or daughter realize their unique potential in an atmosphere of trust and security that promotes self reliance and a love of lifelong learning.