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Writing on Adolescent OCD and Emotional Life
Clinical reflections on intrusive thoughts, compulsions and the emotional life of adolescence. These pieces are written for families, young people and professionals who want to understand what symptoms may be communicating, while remaining attentive to established psychological treatment.
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Perverse Thoughts in Adolescents: A Clinical Note on Intrusion
Not all dark thoughts in adolescence are perverse. Some are collapse. Know the difference—and listen for structure, not content.
marcuslewton
Jun 16, 20254 min read
Many in Government Think a Child’s Mind Is a Datapoint
To many in government, a child’s mind is a datapoint. But some suffering isn’t measurable—it’s symbolic, not yet sayable, still surviving.
marcuslewton
Jun 16, 20251 min read
“Why are her thoughts so dark?”
Why are my daughter’s intrusive thoughts so much darker than mine? A blog for the parent who quietly wonders—and wants to understand.
marcuslewton
Jun 15, 20252 min read
What Metacognitive Exposure and Response Prevention Is Teaching Us (That Bion Already Knew)
MERP teaches us something Bion knew all along: we must think about thought—not just resist it—if we are to metabolise experience.
marcuslewton
Jun 15, 20251 min read
Why Do They Keep Saying It?” – Repetitive Thoughts in Anxious Teens
Repetitive thoughts aren’t always questions—they’re often cries. Listen beyond logic. It’s not about the answer. It’s about the feeling.
marcuslewton
Jun 15, 20253 min read
Digital OCD: The Untheorised Ritual
Digital compulsions in teens aren’t just screen habits—they’re modern rituals of doubt, fear, and obsessive certainty-seeking. #OCD
marcuslewton
May 31, 20254 min read
Treating OCD
Why clinicians must rethink OCD: key insights for psychologists, therapists, and counsellors treating obsessive-compulsive distress in young
marcuslewton
May 31, 20253 min read
Listening to Psychic Architecture: A Reflective Practice
Listening to psychic architecture means attuning to deep emotional structures beneath symptoms—containment, presence, warmth, care.
marcuslewton
May 4, 20255 min read
“Do They Really Need to Understand It?”
Can we treat OCD without understanding it? A fictional debate between two clinicians explores timing, structure, and symbolic readiness.
marcuslewton
Apr 21, 20255 min read
My Child Won’t Talk About Their Thoughts. Should I Push?”
If your child won’t talk about their thoughts, don’t panic. Silence isn’t failure—it’s a signal. Here’s what to do instead.
marcuslewton
Apr 21, 20252 min read
When Your Child’s OCD Speaks in Code: Why Logic Isn’t Enough
When OCD rituals don’t respond to logic, it’s not defiance—it’s emotional code. Learn how to listen for what’s really being said.
marcuslewton
Apr 21, 20252 min read
The House, the Bunker, and the Panic Room
What if OCD isn’t one condition, but four psychic positions? A new way to understand rituals, retreat, and recovery in young people.
marcuslewton
Apr 18, 20253 min read
Why Intrusive Thoughts Get Worse at Night
Intrusive thoughts often strike hardest at night. Here’s why bedtime makes the mind vulnerable—and how to support your child through it.
marcuslewton
Apr 13, 20252 min read
Uninterpretable States: How to Stay With What Refuses to Mean
Not every silence needs decoding. Some states refuse meaning. This lecture teaches how to stay when the symbol won’t come.
marcuslewton
Apr 11, 20254 min read
Not Yet: When Interpretation Becomes Intrusion in Adolescent Therapy
Not every interpretation lands. Some come too soon. Learn how to recognise when a symbol isn’t ready—and why that matters in OCD work.
marcuslewton
Apr 10, 20252 min read
I’m Scared to Say the Wrong Thing
You don’t need to be perfect. You need to stay in the room. What to say when you’re scared to say the wrong thing to your child.
marcuslewton
Apr 9, 20252 min read
Stop Focusing on the Compulsion
Stop cataloguing rituals. Start listening for what breaks if they don’t happen. Treat the structure, not just the symptom.
marcuslewton
Apr 8, 20252 min read
How to Tell If Your Child Is Symbolising or Just Repeating
Is your child expressing something—or just repeating it? Learn how to tell if a ritual is symbolising, or if it’s stuck in survival mode.
marcuslewton
Apr 8, 20253 min read
Understanding Symbolic Breakdown in Adolescent Obsessionality
When a young person stops symbolising, rituals remain—but meaning drains out. Symbolic collapse is quiet, but devastating. (Lecture 2).
marcuslewton
Apr 8, 20255 min read
The Institutional Defence Against Meaning: Why Clinics Abandon Symbolic Work
To abandon symbolic work is to leave the child un-met, and the therapist untouched. We must reclaim meaning, or risk becoming procedural.
marcuslewton
Apr 8, 20253 min read
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