Accommodation occurs when family members change routines, provide reassurance, participate in rituals, or help someone avoid distress in an effort to reduce anxiety. Although accommodation often comes from a place of care, it can unintentionally reinforce anxiety and OCD over time.

Many parents feel stuck when a child refuses therapy for OCD or anxiety. Learn why treatment resistance happens, how accommodation can maintain anxiety, and how SPACE treatment can help parents support change.

What happens when a child refuses therapy for OCD or anxiety? Learn how SPACE treatment helps parents reduce accommodation, support change, and move treatment forward even when a child isn’t willing to participate.

When a child is anxious, offering reassurance often feels like the most natural response in the world.

Parents want to comfort their child, reduce distress, and help things feel manageable again. In the moment, reassurance often works. A child may calm down temporarily after hearing things like:

• “You’re going to be okay.”

• “Nothing bad is going to happen.”

• “I’m sure everything will work out.”

• “Yes, I checked already.”