What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming OCD

by Dawn Huebner, Bonnie Matthews (Illustrator)

A Gold NAPPA (National Parenting Publications Awards) winner
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Moonbeam Children's Book Award for Activity Books (Silver) Did you know that people have brain sorters that keep their brains from getting cluttered with unnecessary thoughts? Sometimes these brain sorters get mixed up, though, and brains get clogged with thoughts that really bother kids.

If that has happened to you, if it's hard for you to feel safe or sure of yourself because certain thoughts have gotten stuck, this book is for you.

What To Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck guides children and their parents through the cognitive-behavioral techniques used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder. This interactive self-help book turns kids into super-sleuths who can recognize and more appropriately respond to OCD's tricks.

With engaging examples, activities, and step-by-step instructions, it helps children master the skills needed to break free from OCD's sticky thoughts and urges, and live happier lives. This What-to-Do Guide is the complete resource for educating, motivating, and empowering children to work toward change.

This book is part of the Magination Press What-to-Do Guides for Kids(R) series and includes an "Introduction to Parents and Caregivers." What-to-Guides for Kids(R) are interactive self-help books designed to guide 6-12 year olds and their parents through the cognitive-behavioral techniques most often used in the treatment of various psychological concerns. Engaging, encouraging, and easy to follow, these books educate, motivate, and empower children to work towards change.

Genres: Psychology, Parenting, Mental Health, Nonfiction, Childrens, Self Help, Counselling

95 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Dawn Huebner, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist and Parent Coach specializing in childhood anxiety. She is the author of 20 books for children (and one for therapists), including bestsellers What to Do When You Worry Too Much and Outsmarting Worry.

Dr. Huebner recognized the need for lively, easy-to-read take-home materials to help children practice the strategies they were learning in her office. She created a format effective for 6-12-year olds – the What to Do Guides for Kids - teaching complex psychological concepts using metaphors, language, and humor easily understood by children. Subsequent books maintain her distinctive voice while adding a layer of detail and sophistication appreciated by older children and teens.

All of Dr. Huebner’s books echo her philosophy - that children can and should be taught to help themselves, and that they are capable of overcoming even stuck-seeming challenges.
Dr. Huebner’s books sell briskly around the world, and have been translated into 23 languages. She has been featured on the TODAY Show, CNN.com, WebMD and many other news and information outlets, and is frequently interviewed by popular parenting magazines. Dr. Huebner’s TEDx talk on Rethinking Anxiety has been viewed over a million times.

Dr. Huebner enjoys hearing from readers. She is always at work on her next book...

Reviews

[Bahar · Rating 5 out of 5]

من روانشناس نیستم و متأسفانه در این مورد اطلاعات خیلی کمی هم دارم، ولی بیماری اختلال وسواس جبری رو خوب میشناسم و خیلی سعی کردم باهاش مقابله کنم. OCD یا اختلال وسواسی- اجباری یه نوع اختلاله که ممکنه سال ها باهاش زندگی کنی و فقط اذیتت کرده باشه و چیزی ازش ندونسته باشی و با خودت گفته باشی خدایا من چمه؟🥲
حالت فکری ای که تو رو همیشه از بقیه عقب میندازه، کارها دیرتر انجام میشن و چه بسا خیلی از کارها رو هم نتونی هیچ وقت انجام بدی، گاهی باعث شرمندگی میشه و دیگران بابت عذرخواهی هات و شاید ترس هات ازت تعجب میکنن و بهت میخندن.
اینکه بفهمی که تو همچین مشکلی داری خودش یه بخش مهم از قضیه اس و درمان و کنار اومدن باهاش هم شدنیه.
چند وقت پیش که داشتم توی یه کتاب فروشی قدم میزدم اتفاقی چشمم به این کتاب افتاد و علی رغم اینکه لحظه اول به نظرم خنده دار اومد که کتابی با این شکل و شمایل برای من بزرگسال مفید باشه ولی با علم بر اینکه میدونستم حوصله خوندن کتاب های حجیم روانشناسی رو ندارم خریدمش و دیدم اتفاقا چه قدر جالبه و چه قدر طبقه بندی شده و قشنگ همه چیز رو گفته و میخوام ازتون خواهش کنم که اگه بچه شما همون طور که توی کتاب گفته:(نگران مسموم بودن غذاشه، دائم سوال های تکراری میپرسه، خیلی معذرت خواهی میکنه مبادا به کسی آسیب زده باشه و ...)  حتما حداقل کاری که میتونید براش انجام بدین خرید این کتابه، توی کتاب همه چی به زبان ساده و برای بچه ها گفته شده و به اون ها راهکارهایی یاد داده که چه طور با نداهای ذهنی شون در مقابله با یک موضوع که وسواس رو تحریک کرده پاسخ بدن.
از متن کتاب: اختلال وسواسی- اجباری دو بخش دارد، بخشی که مربوط به فکر شماست که وسواس نام دارد و بخشی که به دنبال فکر ها می آید و اجبار نام دارد و این احساس را ایجاد میکند که شما باید یک کار را انجام دهید.

[Lorna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know, I'm an adult and this is a kid's book. But my counselor recommended it and I'm glad because it was excellent. The book does a great job of explaining how OCD works and gives tools to treat it.

[Loriann Oberlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many parents with children who worry obsessively think that OCD only applies to frequent concerns about germs (the obsession) and then washing hands all the time (the compulsion).

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is much more complex, and this book published by Magination Press does an excellent job of stepping parents and children through understanding this.

While chapter two of the book does include the hand-washing example—because it's so classic most likely—the graphic images and thought bubbles throughout the book show characters grappling with what-if questions, always/never limitations, pressures in the form of "I better do..." or "I need to...," as well as "should/must/ought" phrasing.

This is a workbook but I usually tell clients to possibly scan the pages or make photocopies so that the child can fill them out, draw, or color them at different times. By doing so and dating the papers your child produces, you may see improvement AND have something to take into your child's therapy session.

I like how the author educates about fight or flight responses, becoming aware of anxiety in one's own body, and then uses cognitive therapy to work on or challenge automatic thoughts.

Remember, the author reports that OCD always wants more and OCD is a slow learner, meaning this takes time. It may also take your child forming an alliance with a trusted therapist to guide you through these steps.

[••• Emilee ••• · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a helpful guide for navigating OCD in an easy and accessible way. It’s meant for children, but I found it really helpful concerning my own OCDs. OCD sucks and it can make you feel super stressed and anxious and depressed. At least that’s how I feel often! But using these tools can literally slowly erode your OCDs power. I’m going to be using these tools to try and fight my current OCDs!

[AnandaTashie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really kid-friendly and accessible with helpful explanations and exercises. I checked it out from the library, but decided to purchase a copy as well.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to read with children to help them understand and deal with compulsions and fears.

[Anita Guerrero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great tool to help anyone that is suffering from OCD.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but does not address obsessive thoughts enough. Focuses more on compulsions.

[Taylor Jenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone with OCD, I found this book to be EXTREMELY helpful and useful! I would recommend it to anyone with OCD or who knows someone with OCD- even if you don’t have OCD it’s really helpful!

[Kaylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Easy to understand. Not sure if it will work for my son.

[Stephanie Ziebarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend loaned this book to me because she was so impressed with this series. I am too! This specific one focused on OCD, and I felt it handled the topic in a very non-threatening, encouraging, practical way. Other topics in the series include anxiety, negativity, anger, sleep problems, and nail biting.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no idea if this book would be helpful for kids or not, but it was incredibly wonderful for me as an adult. The metaphors and tools are ones that I anticipate using frequently going forward. Highly recommended for anyone with OCD.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great intro to dealing with OCD. It’s elementary of course, but the basics are good to know.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

useful and helpful

Great tips for managing OCD, designed for kids but just as applicable to adults. Lots of good tips and tricks in straightforward language.

[Patricia N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck, 2nd Edition
A Kid's Guide to Overcoming OCD
by Dawn Huebner, PhD

Rating: 4 star rating

This is a great book for parents who have a kid dealing with OCD. The author explains how loop thoughts get stuck in a child's head using regular words and fun examples that actually make sense to a kid. It shows them how to stand up to their worries and stop doing the same habits over and over again.

The author, Dawn Huebner, PhD, is a real clinical psychologist who specializes in childhood anxiety. She is famous for making therapy ideas simple, and she has written several bestselling workbooks for kids, including "What to Do When You Worry Too Much". She knows how to talk to children on their level without making them feel bad.

I highly recommend reading this together with your child. It uses real therapy ideas but keeps things simple. There are plenty of fun drawing pages and activities so kids do not get bored or stressed out while reading it. It gives you a great way to talk about anxiety as a family and gives kids easy steps to feel like they are in control of their own brain again.

Thank you, NetGalley, American Psychological Association, and author Dawn Huebner, PhD, for providing me with a copy of this ebook review consideration. All review opinions are my own.

#NetGalley
#AmericanPsychologicalAssociation
#DawnHuebnerPhD
#DawnHuebner
#WhattoDoWhenYourBrainGetsStuck2ndEdition

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[Justin Pickett · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I both have OCD. He went through a tough spot recently and we bought this book. It is outstanding. We read it together. It uses a helpful analogy (a boy in a grocery store demanding candy) to illustrate how OCD demands you do things to feel comfortable (similar to pacifying the boy in the store by giving him candy.) The book then goes over the types of demands (or tricks) that OCD often makes, details the consequences of giving in to those demands (i.e., the demands get worse), and outlines several concrete steps for how to push back against OCD (e.g., limit any response, change the ritual). Throughout the book are numerous cartoons and activities (e.g., finding hidden items in a picture, drawing activities you feel you need to redo, writing in possible ways to respond to OCD-related thoughts) that keep kids engaged while reading and that are also entertaining and useful for active learning. My son has made substantial improvements. I also feel like reading this has helped me get better at handling my own OCD.

“This book is going to teach you to stop OCD's tantrums. It's going to teach you the tricks that OCD plays to frighten you. And then you are going to learn some tricks of your own, but we're going to call them tools.” (p. 25)

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Currently still reading this through with the kiddo but I've finished it before even showing him. This lays out the CBT method really well in ways that a child can understand participate in the story/examples.

Having a kiddo who suffers from OCD is one of the hardest things I've ever had to navigate with parenting and I appreciate this sort of help so much. This book uses humor but also just lays out the facts of OCD in a way that doesn't seem scary or make a child feel like they are broken.

[Rach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful book for professionals, parents and children who are working with/experiencing OCD symptoms. The book provides an explanation of OCD and also tools in order to manage their symptoms. All of which is provided in a child-friendly mannner. I like how the book encourages parents to read the book with the child and also to take it one chapter at a time in order for them to practice the tools.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful for all ages. Breaks OCD down in a simple way that is approachable for parents and kids, in a fun workbook format. Easily readable for parents in about 20 min., to get a better grasp on how to approach parenting a kid with OCD.

Btw, if you haven't yet, check out Huebner's other books that are similar to this treating anxiety, nighttime fears, etc. They're all excellent.

[Ashlee Thomas Watt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very simple yet informative guide to understanding and overcoming OCD. This is a hereditary mental illness, which runs in my family, and I immediately read the symptoms and said, “Yep that’s me.” Hahaha. I’m grateful that I came across this book, and that it’s helping me navigate what’s going on inside my head. This will be a resource for the rest of my life!

[Myra Scholze · Rating 5 out of 5]

My therapist sent me home with this and it was a surprisingly helpful resource. I love that's it's simplified for kids but still relevant to adults. Also, where was this 15 years ago?! I would've found it very reassuring and helpful in my elementary days as well.

[Mahboube · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتابی بسیار کاربردی و کمک‌کننده در زمینه وسواس کودکان که با واژه‌هایی ساده و تصاویر جذاب به عینی‌تر کردن هرچه بیشتر مفاهیم پیچیده شناخت وسواس و ارائه راهبردهایی برای مقابله با این اختلال برای کودکان پرداخته است.
ترجمه قابل‌قبولی از این کتاب توسط انتشارات ارجمند منتشر شده است.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource for families and clinicians working with children with OCD. Beautifully illustrated and accessible to kids. I'm a pediatric OT and I shared it with a family. I loved all of the useful analogies.

[Josephine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Workbook with worksheets and specific, actionable, CBT-based strategies and psycho educational information for kids.

[Shonna BE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very great point of entry to explain OCD to a child, or even to an adult client that’s feeling overwhelmed with the concept of having an OCD diagnosis.

[Rebecca Morrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

If your child is struggling with OCD, this book gives clear description and ideas of what steps to take when fighting back against messages OCD gives the brain. I thought the workbook format was good and would be helpful to school counselors and talk therapists alike. Good book for helping kids in the classroom and especially at home. There was even a section for dangerous things ocd tells kids and I thought that was well done without mentioning too much specifics.

[Kenzie Christopherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally have OCD. This is a very recent thing in my life, and it was quite bad. This book helped me to minimize the effects of OCD so that I could once again live my life without the constant nagging in the back of my mind. It also helped me to better understand OCD, and my family read it too, which helped them better understand (and respect) how my (and other's) OCD works. 10/10 would reccomend! 5 stars!

[Cary Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic for kids and adults!
Very kid frie n
Very easy for kids to understand it can be reread multiple times

[Reading Adventures · Rating 5 out of 5]

What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck continues to prove why the What‑to‑Do series has become such a valuable guide for our family. Every time we open one of these books, I’m reminded how powerfully they translate big, overwhelming feelings into something children can actually understand. OCD can show up in ways that catch you completely off guard — the sudden fears, the rituals, the endless questions that tug at both your patience and your heart. This book doesn’t shy away from any of that. Instead, it meets children exactly where they are, with clarity, warmth, and a sense of safety.

What I appreciate most is how the book turns those “stuck” thoughts into something manageable. The activities are simple and engaging, the explanations are wonderfully child‑friendly, and the tone is gentle enough that my kids stay connected from page to page. We’ve learned so much together, and I find myself sharing pieces of it with friends, teachers, and other parents because the strategies are genuinely helpful.

As a parent, the caregiver introduction feels grounding. It gives language to what’s happening beneath the surface — why certain thoughts latch on, why rituals feel urgent, and how we can help our children push back with confidence rather than fear. This series has become a steady companion for us, something we return to whenever we need clarity, reassurance, or a new way to talk about what’s happening inside our kids’ minds.

For families navigating OCD, this edition is both comforting and empowering. It teaches kids to spot OCD’s tricks, build their own coping tools, and trust their growing ability to handle tough moments. And for us as caregivers, it offers the understanding and structure we need to support them well.

A guide your family will cherish.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this book because one of my children has been struggling with intrusive, overwhelming thoughts about things like climate change and while she doesn’t officially have OCD the description sounded fitting (I also have children and adults in my life who do have OCD). We have been talking about how her brain is stuck and trying lots of tools. Unfortunately, we didn’t find this helpful. It is very wordy and I think younger kids would really struggle to listen to this much talking. It has kids circle random things like things in a grocery store that felt like busywork, and has them draw things. Some kids might like this break from listening to do something artistic, but my daughter did not want to draw her fears or anything. The suggestions were just too simplistic and juvenile — tell your brain no, think of something funny about the fear or fixation, etc. Sadly, there were no helpful tips for us here.

I read a temporary online copy of this book for review.