Table 4.
Emergent themes.
| Theme name | Theme description |
|---|---|
| Resources/Terminology | • Varying terminology and acronyms such as exposure therapy, exposure and response prevention (ERP), CBT, and OCD cause confusion for parents |
| • Parents did not know what kind of treatment to ask for to help anxiety and OCD symptoms | |
| • Parents benefitted from online resources about anxiety/OCD symptoms and treatment | |
| Identifying diagnoses to guide treatment | • Challenging for parents to know what treatment to ask for if diagnosis is not clear |
| • Receiving an appropriate diagnosis is a necessary precursor to finding the right treatment | |
| • Understanding the etiology of anxiety and OCD may be helpful in some cases and not in others | |
| Parent-related factors in treatment seeking | • Parents’ emotional experiences while seeking treatment for their children are complex and include feelings such as isolation, hopelessness, guilt, and worry |
| • Parents do not receive adequate support during the treatment-seeking process | |
| • Parents have limited guidance about the “right” way to respond to anxiety and OCD symptoms | |
| Child-related factors that drive treatment seeking | • When a child’s symptoms are worsening or significantly impairing functioning, parents feel more urgency to find an appropriate provider, but it does not necessarily happen more quickly |
| • Having multiple negative experiences with therapists may make youth more reluctant to seek treatment in the future | |
| • Finding a provider during transition times (e.g., after a partial program or when symptoms re-emerge after a period of improvement) is critical but challenging | |
| Role of medical providers | • Medical providers may not receive specialized training in assessment and treatment of mental health concerns |
| • Medical providers may offer medication, but there is a limited supply of providers who are able and willing to prescribe psychotropic medications to youth | |
| • Limited coordination of care across providers may require families to re-tell their story frequently | |
| Structural and social barriers to accessing care | • Accessing care requires time, financial resources, “good” health insurance, and access to transportation to attend in-person appointments |
| • Limited availability of appointment times requires parents to have flexible work schedules, or in some cases, required parents to take a leave of absence from work | |
| • Many families found therapists via personal connections (word-of-mouth) or because of their careers in medical or mental health fields |