Conversations with Child Psychotherapists

When neurodivergent children show OCD-like distress, services often step back. But not all repetition is the same.

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.

Why are my daughter’s intrusive thoughts so much darker than mine? A blog for the parent who quietly wonders—and wants to understand.

MERP teaches us something Bion knew all along: we must think about thought—not just resist it—if we are to metabolise experience.

Reassurance won’t help if the fear can’t be digested. Sometimes, your presence—not your answer—is the real container.

Can we treat OCD without understanding it? A fictional debate between two clinicians explores timing, structure, and symbolic readiness.

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.

What if OCD isn’t one condition, but four psychic positions? A new way to understand rituals, retreat, and recovery in young people.

Not every silence needs decoding. Some states refuse meaning. This lecture teaches how to stay when the symbol won’t come.

Stop cataloguing rituals. Start listening for what breaks if they don’t happen. Treat the structure, not just the symptom.

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.

When a young person stops symbolising, rituals remain—but meaning drains out. Symbolic collapse is quiet, but devastating. (Lecture 2).