The Parent OCD Academy
Your Child Has OCD. What Are You Supposed to Do at Home?
An 8-week live, clinician-led course for parents and caregivers who want to understand OCD, reduce family accommodation, and learn how to respond when OCD shows up in everyday family life.
Because your child's treatment doesn't end when they leave the therapist's office.
Reassurance at bedtime.
Meltdowns when you don't participate in a ritual.
The same question asked for the tenth time.
Avoiding activities because OCD says they're unsafe.
Changing family routines to keep the peace.
You may understand that these patterns can become part of the OCD cycle.
But knowing that doesn't necessarily tell you what to do instead.
That's what the Parent OCD Academy is for.
January 2027
Mondays • 7:00–8:30 PM ET • Live on Google Meet
$995 per family through December 15th 2026
A Different Kind of OCD Parent Training
The Parent OCD Academy brings together OCD behavioral treatment and psychiatric expertise in one structured, 8-week course.
You’ll learn practical strategies grounded in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and evidence-based OCD treatment—and have the opportunity to ask a psychiatric expert your questions about OCD medications, medication decisions, and how psychiatric treatment can work alongside behavioral treatment.
This is not a support group or a therapy group. It's a structured educational course designed to give parents a deeper understanding of OCD and concrete tools for supporting their child's treatment at home.
ERP + psychiatric education + practical parent training.
Your Child's OCD Doesn't Stay in the Therapy Room.
You want to help your child. You want to make things easier. And sometimes the things that feel most helpful in the moment can unintentionally give OCD more power.
Maybe you've been told to “stop accommodating.”
But what does that actually mean when your child is crying? When they're asking you for reassurance? When refusing to help feels like you're making their distress worse?
That's where things get complicated.
The Parent OCD Academy helps you understand how to respond to OCD without getting pulled into the cycle yourself.
You'll learn how to support your child's recovery without supporting the OCD—and how to tolerate the discomfort that comes with making those changes.
What Is OCD Parent Training?
OCD parent training teaches parents and caregivers how to respond when a child's OCD affects family life. Parents learn to recognize reassurance-seeking, avoidance, rituals, and family accommodation; respond without reinforcing compulsions; and support evidence-based OCD treatment such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
Parent training can be helpful whether a child is newly diagnosed with OCD, already receiving ERP, or struggling to make progress in treatment.
How Can Parents Help a Child With OCD?
Parents can help a child with OCD by learning to recognize the difference between supporting their child and supporting the OCD. This may mean responding differently to reassurance-seeking, setting thoughtful limits around compulsions and rituals, reducing family accommodation, and helping a child move toward situations OCD has led them to avoid.
Parents can also support Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) by encouraging their child through difficult moments without repeatedly providing reassurance or helping them escape the anxiety. The goal isn't to make anxiety disappear—it is to help a child learn that they can experience uncertainty and discomfort without relying on OCD.
What Does OCD Parent Training Teach Parents to Do?
Over eight weeks, we'll help you move from understanding OCD intellectually to knowing how to respond when you're standing in the middle of it.
When your child asks, “Are you sure?”
Learn how reassurance-seeking works—and how to respond without getting pulled into an endless cycle of answering, explaining, and checking.
When your child melts down because you won't participate in a ritual
Learn how to hold boundaries around OCD while remaining compassionate and connected.
When your child's anxiety becomes your anxiety
Learn how to help your child—and yourself—remember that feelings are uncomfortable, not emergencies. Anxiety rises, peaks, and passes without requiring you to make it go away.
When your child avoids something that feels terrifying
Understand avoidance and learn how parents can support gradual movement toward the things OCD is telling their child to avoid.
When your child is doing Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Understand what ERP is actually asking your child to do—and how you can support treatment without becoming their therapist.
When the whole family is being affected
Learn to recognize family accommodation, change family patterns, and help siblings and other family members stop organizing their lives around OCD.
When you're not sure what to do
Develop a framework for responding to new situations, setbacks, and uncertainty without needing to figure everything out from scratch.
Learn From OCD Treatment Specialists
You'll learn from clinicians with expertise in OCD, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), family accommodation, and psychiatric treatment.
Niles Cook, PsyD brings the behavioral and ERP perspective, including how OCD is maintained and how parents can support evidence-based behavioral treatment.
Madeleine Hao, DNP brings psychiatric expertise, including medication treatment for OCD and the role of medication alongside behavioral treatment.
Together, they help parents understand how OCD works, what effective treatment looks like, and how behavioral and psychiatric approaches can work together.
The 8-Week Curriculum
The Parent OCD Academy is a live, interactive OCD parent training program for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with OCD.
Each session combines clinician-led instruction, case examples, practical application, and live Q&A. The curriculum moves from understanding the mechanisms of OCD to applying evidence-based strategies in real family situations.
You'll learn. You'll ask questions. You'll practice. And you'll leave each session knowing what to try next.
Week 1
Understanding OCD
What OCD is, how it works, and why well-intentioned attempts to help can sometimes keep the cycle going.
Week 2
The OCD Cycle
Learn to recognize obsessions, compulsions, avoidance, reassurance-seeking, and accommodation in everyday family life.
Week 3
Reassurance & Family Accommodation
Understand why reassurance is so compelling, how reassurance-seeking can become part of the OCD cycle, and what to do instead.
Week 4
Supporting ERP at Home
Learn what ERP is asking your child to do and how parents can support the process without becoming the therapist.
Week 5
Big Feelings, Meltdowns & Resistance
Learn how to respond when your child is overwhelmed, angry, scared, or pushing back against changes to the OCD cycle.
Week 6
Avoidance & Moving Toward What Matters
Learn how to support your child's movement toward the things OCD has been telling them to avoid.
Week 7
OCD in Everyday Family Life
School, activities, siblings, routines, travel, sleep, and the situations where OCD can quietly take over.
Week 8
Setbacks, Uncertainty & the Long Game
Learn how to respond when OCD flares up, how to recognize progress, and how to keep moving forward after the program ends.
By the End of the Academy, You'll Be Better Able to:
Recognize when OCD is driving a behavior or interaction
Respond to reassurance-seeking without getting pulled into the cycle
Reduce family accommodation thoughtfully and gradually
Set boundaries around OCD while staying connected to your child
Support your child's Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) without becoming their therapist
Respond to anxiety and meltdowns without trying to make the anxiety disappear
Navigate avoidance and encourage your child toward what matters
Recognize when OCD is affecting siblings and the rest of the family
Handle setbacks without feeling like you've failed
Know what to do when you're faced with a situation you haven't encountered before
Your Enrollment Includes
8 live 90-minute sessions
Mondays, 7:00–8:30 PM ET on Google Meet
Expert instruction from OCD treatment professionals
Learn from licensed psychologists specializing in OCD and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), along with a psychiatric provider who can speak to the role of medication in OCD treatment.
Parent workbook and practical resources
Materials to help you follow along during the program and apply what you’re learning between sessions.
Live Q&A
Bring your questions and get guidance on applying the concepts to your own family.
Your Academy Team
Niles Cook, PsyD
Co-Founder & Clinical Director of Red Elm Psychotherapy. Clinical psychologist specializing in OCD, anxiety, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), with approximately eight years of focused experience treating OCD and anxiety disorders. Dr. Cook designed the Academy's curriculum and is currently developing the program manual.
Lead Behavioral Educator (Red Elm Psychotherapy)
Madeleine Hao, DNP
Board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Family Nurse Practitioner specializing in OCD, anxiety disorders, and reproductive psychiatry. Dr. Hao provides evidence-based psychiatric care and family-centered OCD education for children, adolescents, and adults.
Lead Psychiatric Educator (Nova Family Health)
Program Director (Red Elm Psychotherapy)Erin Cook, PsyD
Co-Founder & Director of Red Elm Psychotherapy. Dr. Cook helped develop the Academy's operational framework and joins the cohort in Week 7 as the guest expert on school accommodations and 504 planning.
Is the Parent OCD Academy Right for Your Family?
The Academy may be a good fit if your child:
Has been diagnosed with OCD or is experiencing significant OCD symptoms
Is engaging in reassurance-seeking, rituals, avoidance, or other compulsive behaviors
Is currently in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) or another form of OCD treatment
Is struggling to make progress despite treatment
Has OCD that is affecting siblings, routines, school, activities, or family relationships
It's also a good fit if you've been told to stop accommodating but aren't sure what that actually looks like in your family.
You don't need to be an OCD expert. You don't need to have all the answers.
You just need to be ready to learn a different way of responding.
A Note About the Parent OCD Academy
The Parent OCD Academy is an educational and parent training program for parents and caregivers. It is not individual therapy for your child and does not replace OCD treatment.
If your child is already working with an OCD therapist, the Academy can help you better understand their treatment and support that work at home.
Tuition & Registration
The January 2027 cohort is limited to 25 families so we can keep the program interactive and leave room for questions.
Early-Bird Tuition: $995 per family
Available through September 21, 2026, or until the cohort is full.
Standard Tuition: $1,200 per family
Applies to registrations after September 21.
Registration Includes:
8 live 90-minute virtual sessions on Google Meet
Instruction from OCD and ERP specialists, including behavioral and psychiatric expertise
Parent workbook and practical resources
Live Q&A throughout the program
Materials shipped directly to your home
Secure Your Early Bird Spot Today
Important Educational Disclaimer: This program is a high-level psychoeducational workshop only. It is not a therapy or treatment group. Participation does not establish a therapeutic, psychiatric, psychological, or medical treatment relationship with the facilitators or their respective practices. This program does not provide individualized mental health diagnosis, crisis services, or direct medical care. Families requiring individualized treatment should seek direct clinical services with a licensed provider.
The Parent OCD Academy (8-Week Educational Intensive)
A structured, 8-week virtual educational masterclass designed to give parents a clear, evidence-based roadmap for understanding pediatric and adolescent OCD and implementing effective response strategies at home.
Created by Dr. Niles Cook, PsyD (Red Elm Psychotherapy) and Madeleine Hao, DNP (Nova Family Health).
Your Enrollment Includes:
Live Instruction: All 8 live, 90-minute virtual seminars via Zoom (Launching January 2027.
Physical Academy Deliverables: Premium 3-ring physical Academy Manual and a Laminated Interactive Whiteboard Dashboard shipped directly to your home.
Dual-Expert Curriculum: Dynamic weekly modules covering both psychiatric/neurobiological perspectives and behavioral/ERP core principles.
NoVA School Strategy: Special Week 7 guest lecture by Dr. Erin Cook on navigating Northern Virginia school systems, avoiding classroom accommodation leaks, and building Therapeutic 504 plans.
Please Note: This program is strictly educational and psychoeducational. Participation is limited to 25 families and does not establish a therapeutic, psychiatric, psychological, or medical treatment relationship with the facilitators or their respective practices.
Frequently Asked Questions About OCD Parent Training
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OCD parent training teaches parents and caregivers how to respond when a child's OCD affects family life. Parents learn to recognize reassurance-seeking, avoidance, compulsions, and family accommodation; respond without reinforcing OCD; and support evidence-based treatment such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
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Parents can help by learning how to respond to OCD without reinforcing compulsions or repeatedly providing reassurance. This may include reducing family accommodation, setting thoughtful limits around rituals, supporting ERP, and helping their child face situations OCD has led them to avoid.
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Family accommodation occurs when parents or other family members change their behavior to reduce a child's OCD-related distress. This can include providing repeated reassurance, participating in rituals, answering the same questions repeatedly, helping a child avoid feared situations, or changing family routines around OCD. The Academy teaches parents how to recognize accommodation and begin changing these patterns thoughtfully.
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The goal is not to simply stop answering your child or leave them to manage distress alone. Parents learn to respond with empathy while avoiding repeated reassurance that keeps the OCD cycle going. The Academy teaches practical ways to respond to reassurance-seeking while staying connected to your child.
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Parents can support Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) by encouraging their child through difficult moments without helping them escape anxiety, complete compulsions, or repeatedly seek reassurance. Parents do not need to become their child's therapist. The Academy teaches parents how to support the treatment process while maintaining their role as a parent.
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No. The Parent OCD Academy is an educational and parent training program. It does not provide individual therapy for your child and does not replace OCD treatment. Parents whose children are already working with an OCD therapist can use the Academy to better understand treatment and support that work at home.
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No. The Academy can be helpful whether your child is newly diagnosed with OCD, currently receiving ERP, participating in another form of OCD treatment, or struggling to make progress. The program focuses on helping parents understand OCD and develop practical ways to respond at home.
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The Academy is designed for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents with OCD. The principles of OCD treatment and parent support can be applied across developmental stages, while specific strategies may look different depending on a child's age and circumstances.
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No. The Parent OCD Academy is a live educational program for parents and caregivers, not individual or family therapy. Participants learn from OCD treatment professionals, ask questions, and practice applying concepts to situations that commonly arise at home.
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The October 2026 cohort is $995 per family through September 15, 2026, after which tuition is $1,200. Enrollment includes eight live 90-minute sessions, expert instruction, a parent workbook and practical resources, live Q&A, and materials shipped to your home.
You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone.
You've been told what not to do.
Now learn what you can do.
Join the Parent OCD Academy to better understand your child's OCD, respond differently when OCD shows up, and support your child's recovery without letting OCD run the family.
January 2027
Mondays • 7:00–8:30 PM ET • Live on Google Meet
$995 per family through September 21