Articles by Chris Trondsen

We appreciate your interest in volunteering! We have four active working groups looking for volunteers.

To help you decide where you would like to devote your time and talents, please read the information below on our current teams.

The more volunteers we have, the better our events will be!

1. OB/Gynecologist & Pediatrician Subcommittees

The mission of the Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Pediatrician Subcommittees is to educate local physicians on the early detection and treatment of postpartum and pediatric OCD. 

We have two goals. First, we will develop outreach materials for each of the specialties we will be contacting (OB/Gynecologists and Pediatricians). Second, we will approach local OB/Gynecologists and Pediatricians to distribute the materials and offer our presentation. 

The informational toolkit to be developed will include: 1) a brochure, 2) a powerpoint to present to physicians, and 3) a short self-assessment questionnaire for patients. 

If you would like to volunteer to assist with this initiative, please contact DrYip@RenewedFreedomCenter.com for the OB/Gynecologist Subcommittee, or AshleyBramhall@RenewedFreedomCenter.com for the Pediatrician Subcommittee.

2. Event Planning Team

If you have enjoyed the events sponsored by OCD Southern California and would be interested in helping to make them even better, we welcome you!  There are many ways to participate in the Events Planning Team, depending on your talents, interests and time.

We always need people to help us plan, set up, and keep things organized at our events.  If this is something you might like to do, I will add you to our volunteer email group.  As we begin planning for an event, you will receive an email requesting help.  If you are interested in the event and have the time to volunteer, great!  If not, perhaps you are available for the next event.

While we need people with all types of talents, if you have any of the following skills, we would greatly appreciate your talents to help us reach many more people in Southern California:

• Public Relations skills
• Graphic arts skills
• Social Media skills
• Fund-raising skills

If the Events Planning Team sounds right for you, please send the following information to Liz Trondsen at ltrondsen@gmail.com:

• Name  

• Phone Number  

Please let me know if you have any special area of interest-or just want to help wherever needed!

3. Advocacy Committee

The general public does not fully understand the severity and complexities of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It will take members of the OCD community– those with OCD, their friends and family members, and treatment providers, to debunk the stigma surrounding the disorder and to spread awareness. 

Volunteer members of OCD Southern California’s Advocacy Committee will educate the general public in a variety of ways: speaking at OCD Southern California affiliate events, talking to interested parties at mental health conferences and events while manning an OCD So Cal booth, contributing their personal stories to our website and blog, speaking at hospitals and medical offices, and posting OCD Awareness information or videos on social media.

Volunteers may select the level of involvement and time they wish to contribute, as well as how much of their personal story they wish to share. The committee is led by Ethan Smith, Justin Nichols, and Chris Trondsen, MFTT, all of whom have suffered with OCD and are advocates themselves. Ethan, Justin, and Chris will work side-by-side with volunteers of the Advocacy Committee to further carry out OCD Southern California’s mission to educate and support the local OCD community.

If you are interested in being part of the Advocacy Committee, please email: info@OCDSoCal.org with the subject of the email being: “I Am Interested In Being a Part of the Advocacy Committee” and address the email to Chris, Justin, and Ethan. Thank you!

4. OCD in Schools

Raising awareness for early identification and effective intervention

Our goals include:

1. Distributing information and materials to schools 
2. Developing and offering in-service trainings for teachers and school administrators
3. Offering materials and information to psychologists who do testing and recommend accommodations appropriate to treatment goals for OCD. 
4. Providing guidance to parents on how best to help their children navigate the demands of school.

OCD is easy to miss and/or misdiagnose, but if we could educate our educators on what to look for beyond the regular stereotyped symptoms we could perhaps reduce the time that it often takes for people to be properly diagnosed. Also, educating the special needs providers about appropriate accommodation and how they may differ for OCD. Last but not least, we hope to help educate parents on how to best help their children and to provide up to date resources. 

If you would like to volunteer to assist on this committee, please contact Melissa Mose at mmosemft@gmail.com.