Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in children has been poorly investigated for a long time. One of the main reasons has been the parents' difficulty in identifying their child's problem. The child does not understand what happens to him and thinks that "it is like that". He is afraid to comment on his "oddities" because people may dismiss him as "crazy" and have no friends, get rid of brothers or simply reject him. For all this, the child try to hide his problem. It is now known that the onset of OCD can occur as early as four and five years of age.
John S. March and Karen Mulle have developed and validated a program based on Response Prevention aimed at children suffering this disorder. Subsequently they published a manual: "OCD in Children and Adolescents. A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Manual". Our research group adapted this program to Spanish children, modifying and adding some aspects of the original protocol. This treatment consists of elements that are integrated into the daily lives of children, including stories, puzles, and computer games. Parents are actively involved in the therapy and are committed to performing the therapeutic tasks.

Professor Aurora Gavino is one of the leading experts in our country in the psychological treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, a problem that she has been investigating since 1979. She is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Malaga, in Spain. She has been director of the Department of Psychology and Clinical Psychology at the University of Málaga. Since 2014, she has directed the Master of General Health Psychology at the University of Málaga. Professor Gavino was president of the Spanish Society for the Advancement of Clinical and Health Psychology. As a specialist in that area, she has authored manuals for psychologists and students, scientific papers, research and popular books for the general public. Her works include the creation of practical content to therapists such as “Guía de ayuda al terapeuta cognitivo-conductual” (Guide for a cognitive-behavioral therapist), “Tratamientos psicológicos de trastornos clínicos” (Psychological treatments of clinical disorders).  She has contributed to the assessment of child obsessive-compulsive disorder by the validation of the Spanish version the The Yale-Brown Obsessive–Compulsive for children, Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire- Child version (OBQ-CV), and the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory -version Children (OIC-CV). Her books “Mi hijo tiene manias” ("My son has obsessions"), “Deje atrás sus obsesiones” ("Leave your obsessions") and “Tratando… Trastorno Obsesivo-Compulsivo” ("Treating ... Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder") are books of reference for parents and patients as well as clinicians. She is the director of the collections “Recursos Terapéuticos” and “Psicocuentos” of Pirámide Editions. She has received several awards in recognition of her career, including the 2015 Aitana Award.