A Holiday Message from the OCD SoCal Board of Directors

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Dear OCD SoCal Community:

On behalf of the OCD SoCal Board of Directors, we extend our warmest holiday wishes to each of you and your families. As we look towards the new year, we are excited to share with you some highlights from OCD SoCal’s work in 2017.

In service of our mission to increase awareness of OCD and related disorders throughout Southern California, we have sponsored a number of educational events. Our 2nd Annual OCD Southern California conference was held in Irvine this past March and was attended by over 200 individuals with OCD, family members, and professionals! In June, OCD SoCal sponsored 1 Million Steps 4 OCD walks in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Orange County and raised over $3600 to support the important work being done by the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) and our local OCD SoCal affiliate. As part of OCD Awareness Week, in October we sponsored three screenings of “UNSTUCK: An OCD Kids Movie” and “Oh Crappy Day” along with OCD Q&A sessions with local professionals. Screenings were held in Los Angles, San Diego, and Irvine with approximately 300 people in attendance! We have also been exhibitors at local and international mental health conferences, including IOCDF’s Annual Conference in San Francisco this past July and at Recovery International’s local conference in San Diego this past November.

As many of you may know, there is a considerable need to increase the accessibility of treatment for OCD and related disorders across the Southern California region. To this aim, we are incredibly proud to share that OCD SoCal became the first ever IOCDF affiliate to sponsor a Behavior Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) event. The BTTI is an in-depth training program for mental health professionals in the treatment of individuals with OCD and related disorders. This event was held December 1-3 in Dana Point and was attended by 32 clinicians, including 11 from Southern California. This training was made possible only through the generosity of many local treatment centers and individual donors.

We want to recognize the treatment centers that provided the funding for the BTTI:

  • Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center
  • OCD & Anxiety Program of Southern California
  • OCD Southern California Affiliate
  • Psychological Care and Healing
  • Renewed Freedom Center
  • Westwood Institute
  • University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Resilience Treatment Center

We have big goals for 2018. We plan to strengthen our annual programming events as well as to expand our services to our local communities. Committees have been formed for OCD in schools, pediatrics, and OB/GYN outreach and education.

We continue to be touched by the generosity of individuals with OCD, their family members, and professionals in supporting our work through their time, talent, and treasure. Please consider supporting OCD SoCal in your holiday giving this year (http://ocdsocal.org/get-involved/donate/). Your can also support OCD SoCal by completing your holiday shopping through https://smile.amazon.com/ and selecting  “OCD Southern California” as your preferred charity. Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase to OCD SoCal. Finally, we rely on volunteers to help plan and run our events. If you are interested in getting involved in 2018, please email info@ocdsocal.org.

With gratitude and well wishes for a happy and healthy new year,

OCD SoCal Board of Directors