Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects approximately 3% of children and adolescents.

Children with OCD may experience obsessions (uncontrollable, intrusive and scary thoughts) and/or compulsions (repetitive behaviours that they feel driven to reduce anxiety or prevent something terrible from happening).

Children with OCD are usually aware that these thoughts and behaviours are not "normal" and often find them very distressing. In childhood, OCD can affect the entire family, such that family members often have to assist with completing rituals or modify family routines to alleviate the child's distress.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy, incorporating exposure and response prevention ( CBT-ERP ), is a highly effective first-line treatment for children with OCD . However, access to services is often hampered by long waitlist times and a lack of trained clinicians with expertise in delivering CBT-ERP , leaving parents feeling powerless to help their child.

Griffith University’s OCD Busters research team is committed to improving access to high-quality, evidence-based CBT-ERP for all children and young people with OCD through innovative research, clinician training, and delivery of world class treatment.

About OCD Busters:

Griffith University Paediatric OCD Research Program is led by Professor Lara Farrell, and provides assessment and state-of-the-art evidence-based, cognitive-behavioural treatment (group, individual or digital modalities) for children and young people with OCD.

Professor Farrell and her colleagues have been awarded grants from Australian Rotary Health, the Children’s Financial Market and the National Health and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) to conduct research examining the effectiveness of treatments for children and youth with OCD.

Program developers

Professional portrait of Lara Farrell

Professor Lara Farrell

Dr Lara Farrell is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor within the School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus. She also serves as Deputy Director for the Griffith University Centre for Mental Health. Dr Farrell conducts clinical research in the field of childhood phobias and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Her work has involved numerous highly cited clinical trials for child anxiety/phobias and OCD , including prevention trials, group treatments, intensive treatments, digital and virtual reality interventions, and novel pharmacological augmentation of CBT . She has a particular interest in the dissemination of evidence-based treatments via multiple modalities of care, and implementation of evidence-based practice in community settings. She has published more than 140 peer-reviewed papers and/or chapters in her field of research.

Professor Allison Waters

Allison Waters is Professor of Clinical Psychology, Deputy Head of School (Research) in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University and Director of the Griffith Centre for Mental Health. Professor Waters is also the Director of the Griffith University Childhood Anxiety Disorders Research Program, which provides evidence-based assessment and treatment services in-person and online for anxious children and their parents. She also developed the Griffith University Life-Fit-Learning Program, which is an integrated mental health and wellbeing system of care that assesses the mental health and wellbeing of young people, provides feedback reports for carers and young people, and connects young people to online and in person care proportionate to their needs.

Current research team members

Dr Jules Finch, PhD (Clinical Psychology), MAPS

Clinical Research Fellow

Dr Finch is a registered psychologist who has worked with children, adolescents and families in multiple settings including schools, hospitals and community health; and on clinical research trials for childhood OCD and specific phobias. Her doctoral research examined the role of Psychological Capital on outcomes of mental health and subjective wellbeing in Australian youth. Her clinical interests reflect a belief in the value of early assessment, diagnosis, and intervention for paediatric neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders to ameliorate the impairment and negative trajectory associated with these conditions.

Griffth Experts Profile

Dr Gabrielle Simcock Paton, PhD

Research Fellow

Gabrielle has a PhD in developmental psychology with research expertise and a passion for furthering our ability to understand child and youth development and to optimise their mental health and wellbeing. Gabrielle is trial coordinator for the Pre-schoolers Overcoming Phobias (POP!) NHMRC funded study and also contributes to the OCD Busters research program.

Alicia Beccaria, BPsych (Hons), MCP candidate

Research Assistant

Alicia is a provisional psychologist currently completing her Master of Clinical Psychology at Griffith University. She has a special interest in the area of paediatric and youth mental health and conducted her honours thesis on paediatric OCD. Alicia has worked across a range of settings including non-government organisations and the clinical research trial exploring treatment for pre-schoolers with phobias.

Steph Scott, BPsych (Hons), MCP candidate

Research Assistant / Clinician

Steph is a provisional psychologist who works across the lifespan; supporting children, adolescents, and adults to navigate mental health challenges. She has gained experience in university outpatient, public health, private practice, and research settings with a range of presentations including mood and anxiety disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, adjustment and life transitions, and parenting and relationship difficulties. She is completing her Master of Clinical Psychology where her research focused on parent training in exposure and response prevention (ERP) for children with OCD as part of the OCD Busters research program. Steph works as one of the OCD Busters clinicians for ongoing research trials.

Imogene Calteaux, BPsych (Hons), PhD Candidate

Project Coordinator / Clinician

Imogene is a provisional psychologist, currently completing her Clinical PhD which explores childhood specific phobia treatment using remotely delivered virtual reality exposure therapy. She is currently the project coordinator and clinician for Families Accessing online Skills Training (FAST-CBT) for paediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and has an interest in youth specific phobia treatment.

Contact us

Location, Delivery and Postal Address

Gold Coast campus

Level 7 Ian O'Connor Building (G40)

Parklands Drive Southport Qld 4222

(07) 5678 8317

OCD Busters Research Lead

Program Director

Professor Lara Farrell

Ph: (07) 5678 8224

E-mail: l.farrell@griffith.edu.au