Motivation is a key ingredient in the successful treatment of pediatric obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD). As a first‐line treatment, cognitive‐behavior therapy (CBT) requires extensive client engagement, including participating in exposures and doing homework tasks. A lack of motivation to comply with these tasks may seriously affect treatment outcome. This case study identifies factors interfering with motivation and illustrates motivational strategies to enhance compliance of a child with OCD. The patient was an 11‐year‐old boy with severe OCD and symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). He had extensive OCD‐related avoidance behavior but denied the presence of symptoms or did not acknowledge them as a problem. In this article, we discuss the different techniques used to enhance motivation, which subsequently led to a favorable outcome.