Transforming the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Narrative in Our Classrooms: Key Insights & Considerations for Rural Schools
By Kinsey Simone, PhD
Introduction
All educators have an opportunity to engage with and support children who have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and educator support may be critical for rural youth’s success, as rural areas are often marginalized due to policy underrepresentation and lack resources for mental health (Winton, 2022; Wakefield, 2022). Through raising awareness of current OCD misperceptions, we can start to transform the OCD narrative in our classrooms and begin a chain reaction of change and advocation for students with OCD. Key highlights on current OCD stigmas from an ongoing study are provided, with special considerations for rural schools.
OCD & the Classroom: What Educators Should Know
OCD is classified as an anxiety disorder consisting of obsessions, compulsions, and intrusive thoughts which vary and can be debilitating (Langham, 2022; Wagner, 2009). About 1 in 200 children may have OCD (Wagner, 2009), but OCD symptoms can often be misread within the classroom, leading to limited support or misdiagnoses (Bubrick, 2023). Many OCD tendencies are not physically noticeable, making OCD an “invisible” disorder which is often misunderstood as a condition or a personality quirk (Simone, 2024), despite its detrimental effects due to continuous disturbing, insidious thoughts (Culkin, 2021) and compulsions to “feel better”.
While around 116,100 future educators complete teacher preparation programs annually, there is a shortage in filling special education teacher positions in public schools (Irwin et al., 2023). Rural schools lack enough counselors to support all students, and practicing counselors in rural areas can experience large workloads and no time to counsel (Sallinger, 2022). Rural youth may need more support from their teachers regarding mental health crises or identifying accommodations due to limited sociocultural and economic resources (Sallinger, 2022), as well as heightened community stigmas towards mental health (Winton, 2022).
OCD & the Classroom: What Future Teachers Currently Perceive
The perceptions of and stigmas towards OCD of 57 pre-service teachers (PSTs) enrolled within a Teacher Education Program in a 4-year Tennessee university were assessed through a survey in 2023 (see Simone, 2024 for other findings derived from this study). These highlights provide evidence for a need to increase educators’ awareness and understanding of OCD. Most of the surveyed PSTs in this study grew up within and will teach in rural Appalachia, which hosts many distressed and at-risk classified counties. Accordingly, specific considerations are provided for rural schools.
PSTs represent future educators, and the below highlights provide insight into the knowledge, empathy, and/or awareness they will bring with them into their classrooms. One key insight was that, while PSTs who were diagnosed or knew someone diagnosed had an overall stronger understanding of the disorder, all PSTs had high negative stigmas towards OCD, emphasizing that negative stigmas towards OCD do not discriminate and are a social process (see Figure 2). Even PSTs who were diagnosed with OCD experienced “self-stigma” towards themselves and their disorder (Chaves et al., 2022), which can be heightened in rural communities, which tend to culturally associate mental illness with unwarranted shame (Winton, 2022).
Figure 2: PSTs’ Negative Stigmas Towards OCD by OCD Relation
Further examination of PSTs’ public stigmas indicated that PSTs did not see OCD as a real disorder, which aligns with a tendency for rural communities to not view mental illness as a real medical condition. PSTs used words like “organization” and “perfectionism” to describe OCD in qualitative responses (r = 0.73), and words like “fear” and “suffer” were also strongly correlated with OCD (r = 0.73); while some PSTs used “fear” and “suffer” to describe intrusive thoughts, indicating awareness, others used them in a negative light. Some PSTs even wrongly claimed the disorder, noting that they probably had OCD because they liked to be organized.
What does this mean for education and OCD?
Lasting change can only begin when we become aware of three things: the situation, our relationship to the situation, and our intentions thereafter (Lim, 2020). The above highlights provide insight into PSTs’ misperceptions of OCD (the situation), and now we must identify how our perceptions of OCD relate to the situation. Only then can we start changing the OCD narrative within and outside of our classrooms and better support diagnosed students through advocating for awareness and support (our intentions thereafter). This is especially important for teachers in rural schools, who have the opportunity to model transformative change both in their classrooms and within the community itself.
How to transform the OCD narrative in your classroom:
- Actively engage in learning opportunities. Consider enrolling within a special education (SPED) degree program or seek out additional SPED courses in your program if currently enrolled. Reach out to a local college or university close to your school to start a conversation about an educational partnership.
- Collaborate with licensed professionals. Collaborate with your school psychologist or counselor to find out how you can better support students with OCD in your classroom. Seek assistance opportunities that your school or students are eligible for and provide a list of resources to families who may not have insurance or the financial capacity to get mental health support.
- Start a conversation about OCD. Share what you know about OCD with others to start a chain reaction of awareness and empathy in your school, home, and community through sustainable parent-school-community partnerships which create an inclusive space to have conversations about students’ needs.
Author note: The above blog is based on findings from an ongoing quantitative research study which was approved by an Institutional Review Board in 2023. The author was diagnosed with OCD in childhood and speaks from both personal experience and current research. Any correspondence regarding the above post should be sent to Dr. Kinsey Simone at ksimone@tntech.edu.
References
Bubrick, J. (2023). What does OCD look like in the classroom? Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/what-does-ocd-look-like-in-the-classroom/
Chaves, A., Arnaez, S., Castilla, D., Roncero, M., & Garcia-Soriano, G. (2022). Enhancing mental health literacy in obsessive-compulsive disorder and reducing stigma via smartphone: A randomized controlled trial protocol.
Child Mind Institute. (2023). Teachers’ guide to OCD. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/guide/teachers-guide-to-ocd-in-the-classroom/
Culkin, D. T., & Culkin, M. A. (2021). OCD and marriage: Pathways to reshaping your lives together. Specialty Press, Inc.
Irwin, V., Wang, K., Tezil, T., Zhang, J., Filbey, A., Jung, J., Mann, F. B., Dilig, R., Parker, S., Nachazel, T., Barnett, M., Purcell, S. (2023). Report on the condition of education 2023. U.S. Department of Education (NCES 2023-144), 1–54. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2023/2023144.pdf
Langham, D. (2022). Why is there a stigma around OCD? IMPULSE. https://impulsetherapy.com/why-is-there-a-stigma-around-ocd/
Lim, W. (2020, September 18). Awareness: The first step to change. LinkedIn. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/awareness-first-step-change-winifred-lim-%E6%9E%97%E6%B7%91%E5%A8%9F/
Mavis, B. (2023). Why every teacher needs to study special education. Point Loma Nazarene University. Retrieved from https://www.pointloma.edu/resources/education/why-every-teacher-needs-study-special-education-0#:~:text=It%20offers%20a%20lifetime%20of,to%20continuously%20change%20and%20adapt.
Ponzini, G. T., & Steinman, S. A. (2022). A systematic review of public stigma attributes and Obsessive-compulsive disorder symptom subtypes. Stigma and Health, 7(1), 14–26, https://doi.org/10.1017/sah0000310
Sallinger, M. (2022, December 12). A lack of counselors in rural schools leads to a push to train teachers in youth mental health aid first. 9 News. Retrieved from https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/overworked-school-counselors-get-help-from-additional-mental-health-training/73-33bf2da8-ec16-4b9f-ab42-37684d5df1ba
Simone, K. (2024, January 22). The “invisible” disorder: OCD stigma & how we
move forward. Anxiety & Depression Association of America. Retrieved from https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/professional/invisible-disorder-ocd-stigma-how-we-move
Wagner, A. P. (2009). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in children and
teenagers. International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). https://iocdf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/OCD-in-Children-and-Teenagers-Fact-Sheet.pdf
Wakefield, C. (2022, August 5). Rural issues are dei issues. Pulse. Retrieved from
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rural-issues-dei-cole-wakefield/
Winton, J. (2022, November 17). Confronting mental health challenges in rural America.
National Alliance on Mental Illness. Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/November-2022/Confronting-Mental-Health-Challenges-in-Rural-America
Other Helpful Resources
- International OCD Foundation: https://iocdf.org/
- Anxiety in the Classroom online resource center, International OCD Foundation: https://anxietyintheclassroom.org/
- Anxiety & Depression Association of America: https://adaa.org/
Dr. Kinsey Simone is an instructor of quantitative research methods within the College of Education at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee. She earned a PhD in Program Planning & Evaluation in 2023, and primary research interests include societal perceptions of and stigmas towards obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), as well as the effectiveness of educational interventions in decreasing negative stigmas. Dr. Simone’s passion for researching OCD stems from her own personal experiences since being diagnosed with the disorder as a child. Any correspondence can be emailed to ksimone@tntech.edu.
