What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck, 2nd Edition: A Kid's Guide to Overcoming OCD

by Dawn Huebner, Sabine Rothmund (Illustrator)

Your seven-year-old suddenly wonders if there’s poison in their food and can’t eat a meal without asking. Your nine-year-old apologizes incessantly. Your eleven-year-old does everything in multiples of five.

OCD isn’t always about hand washing. It’s about unwanted thoughts that take hold of your child and urges they cannot ignore. It’s about rituals intended to ward off harm. And it's about questions. Endless questions. Questions about safety. Questions about certainty. Questions that drive you crazy. Questions that break your heart.

What to Do When Your Brain Gets Stuck, 2nd Edition, teaches evidence-based cognitive-behavioral strategies to combat obsessive-compulsive disorder. Like the best-selling first edition, this engaging workbook combines step-by-step instructions, engaging interactive activities, and lively illustrations to help children and their parents learn to spot OCD’s tricks and manage them more effectively. Written with warmth and humor, this indispensable guide helps families personalize a game plan to reduce the power of OCD.

This book is part of the Magination Press's What-to-Do Guides for Kids series and includes an informative “Introduction to Parents and Caregivers” written by the author.

96 pages, Paperback

Expected publication August 4, 2026

About the author

Dawn Huebner, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist and Parent Coach specializing in childhood anxiety. She is the author of 20 books for children (and one for therapists), including bestsellers What to Do When You Worry Too Much and Outsmarting Worry.

Dr. Huebner recognized the need for lively, easy-to-read take-home materials to help children practice the strategies they were learning in her office. She created a format effective for 6-12-year olds – the What to Do Guides for Kids - teaching complex psychological concepts using metaphors, language, and humor easily understood by children. Subsequent books maintain her distinctive voice while adding a layer of detail and sophistication appreciated by older children and teens.

All of Dr. Huebner’s books echo her philosophy - that children can and should be taught to help themselves, and that they are capable of overcoming even stuck-seeming challenges.
Dr. Huebner’s books sell briskly around the world, and have been translated into 23 languages. She has been featured on the TODAY Show, CNN.com, WebMD and many other news and information outlets, and is frequently interviewed by popular parenting magazines. Dr. Huebner’s TEDx talk on Rethinking Anxiety has been viewed over a million times.

Dr. Huebner enjoys hearing from readers. She is always at work on her next book...

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking forward to this book because one of my children has been struggling with intrusive, overwhelming thoughts about things like climate change and while she doesn’t officially have OCD the description sounded fitting (I also have children and adults in my life who do have OCD). We have been talking about how her brain is stuck and trying lots of tools. Unfortunately, we didn’t find this helpful. It is very wordy and I think younger kids would really struggle to listen to this much talking. It has kids circle random things like things in a grocery store that felt like busywork, and has them draw things. Some kids might like this break from listening to do something artistic, but my daughter did not want to draw her fears or anything. The suggestions were just too simplistic and juvenile — tell your brain no, think of something funny about the fear or fixation, etc. Sadly, there were no helpful tips for us here.

I read a temporary online copy of this book for review.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to be added to Amazon UK and US on 4 August 2026 - publication day!

I thought that this was a great book to read!

The book was well written and it was easy to read and understand. Whilst my daughter doesn't have OCD, her dad does have some OCD tendencies so it was helpful for her to understand a bit more about it.

I thought that this was a great book to give an overview and will be a great read for kids who are struggling. The author has done a great job in breaking down OCD in a way that is easy to understand for all ages and it offers some great hints and tips and simple strategies on overcoming it.

The illustrations in the book were great and they brought the story to life.
It is 5 stars from me for this one - very highly recommended!

[Sherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second edition of this book will be released August 4th, 2026. I was able to read an advance reviewer copy thanks to Edelweiss. Outstanding children's/YA guide to dealing with OCD, highly recommended. As a former child with OCD, I wish this book had been available to me in the 1970's and 80's as I didn't learn these skills until my 50s. Parents of children dealing with OCD, get this book!

[Claudette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for kids who are struggling. It’s also great for adults, too. It breaks down OCD in a way that is easy to understand and offers simple strategies. I highly recommend it. Thank you, Net Galley, for the ARC.