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San Diego OCD Walk a Huge Success!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came out for San Diego One Million Steps for OCD Walk! Thanks to your overwhelming support, this was our most successful walk ever, with over 130 registered walkers helping us build community and raise awareness for OCD. We also raised nearly $5,000 to support OCD awareness and resources, with almost 150 individual donors! We had many clinicians attend and make themselves available to answer questions, and 11 wonderful volunteers who ensured that the event went smoothly. Special thank you to the La Jolla Shores Hotel, who generously donated the use of their beautiful Garden Patio to host us. Walkers completed a 2 mile walk along the ocean, engaging with people on the boardwalk who asked questions, and stopping to take photos at the iconic Scripps Pier. 

If you haven’t had the chance, you can still donate on our San Diego Walk page! We also look forward to seeing people at our Orange County Walk on June 29 and the International OCD Foundation Annual Conference in Orlando, FL July 25-28. 

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Join Us Saturday, May 11 at 11am PST for Our Virtual, Speakers Series Event Featuring Guest Speakers!

OCD Southern California is excited to offer an exciting event this Saturday, May 11, from 11 AM to 2 PM PST! For the month of April, over 350 people attended OCD SoCal’s in-person Speakers Series events, and we are excited to present this Saturday’s virtual Speakers Series event open to anyone from anywhere!

This free, virtual event is perfect for people with OCD and related disorders, family members and loved ones supporting someone with OCD, as well as anyone interested in learning more about OCD.

The event will feature 6 presenters and 4 presentations. We will then open it up for an extended Q&A, where you can ask these OCD experts any questions about your particular struggle with OCD, your family’s struggle with OCD, and listen to questions asked by others going through similar struggles.

The presentations will last the first half of the event and then the second half will be the Q & A. Scroll below the presenter’s information and talk titles and descriptions. If you are not on our mailing list, please email: info@ocdsocal.org to ask for the event’s Zoom link. See you this Saturday!

Presentation: Family Accommodation Across the Lifespan – Support for Family Members, Loved Ones, and Romantic Partners – Melissa Mose, LMFT (https://www.melissamosemft.com/meet-melissa/), Andrew Cohen, LMFT (https://www.cohenocdtherapy.com/andrew-cohen-bio), and Danielle Cohen, LMFT (https://www.cohenocdtherapy.com/danielle-cohen-ms-lmft)

Loving and supporting someone with OCD is both gratifying and can be challenging. This talk is specifically for family members, loved ones, and romantic partners supporting someone with OCD. The talk will dive into ways loved ones often accommodate the OCD, which in turn just strengthens the OCD—often causing conflict within the family or relationship. There will also be a discussion on how to create a relationship outside of OCD. This talk will give tangible strategies to those supporting someone with OCD on how to reduce family accommodations, strengthen the relationship, practice self-care, and supporting a loved one across the lifespan!  

Presentation: Recovery From OCD is Possible” – Through OCD, I Lost Myself. Treatment Brought Me Back Stronger! – Chris Trondsen, LMFT (https://www.gatewayocd.com/chris-trondsen/)

People impacted by OCD need hope that recovery from the disorder is possible. Before becoming a clinician specializing in the treatment of OCD, Chris suffered from the disorder himself. He will share how he went from dropping out of college, isolating from friends and family, and becoming housebound to living a full life, advocating for OCD across various media platforms, and helping others recover from OCD.

In addition, Chris will discuss the specific ways OCD impacted his self-view and self-image. He was referred to as a ‘difficult child,’ he became scared of his own thoughts, and became a shell of himself—all at the hands of the disorder. He will then share how treatment helped him build himself back better— allowing him to gain confidence in himself, build resilience, and find a new life’s purpose.

Presentation: Medical Treatments for OCD – Ryan Vidrine, MD (https://www.ryanvmd.com/about-me)

The presentation will Inform attendees about the ins and outs of medication treatment for OCD. Dr. Vidrine will then describe the use of deep TMS for OCD & Deep Brain Stimulation. Lastly, he will briefly mention upcoming or novel treatments such as Ketamine or psychedelics for OCD. 

Presentation: Igniting Willpower: Separating Fact from Fiction in Motivation. – Nathaniel Van Kirk, Ph.D. (https://www.mcleanhospital.org/profile/nathaniel-van-kirk)

Getting better from OCD is challenging and takes a lot of motivation and dedication. This talk will first debunk some common motivational myths that can lead to burn out and hopelessness. After addressing these common myths, the talk will then provide attendees with strategies for building motivation around OCD treatment. If you are struggling with motivation in your own recovery, you will not want to miss this presentation!

We look forward to seeing you at the free, virtual event this Saturday! Please email us with any questions you may have: info@ocdsocal.org

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Thank you for making the San Diego Speaker Series a success!

OCD SoCal would like to thank everyone who made our 2024 San Diego speaker series a success! Nearly 60 people attended this speaker series at the Mira Mesa Library on April 20, including people with lived experience of OCD, loved ones, and clinicians. Consistent with our values of making sure that everyone can access resources for OCD, we were able to make this event free of cost due to the generosity of individual donors and our sponsors – Rogers Behavioral Health and Newport Healthcare – and thanks to our many volunteers and speakers who donated their time to this event. In particular, Dr. Sanjaya Saxena provided an important overview of OC Related Disorders and their comorbidities and complexities, including treatment options and typical effectiveness rates based on the current research evidence. Our lived experience panel was facilitated by Katherine Pica LCSW and featured four panelists who spoke movingly about their journeys with OCD and recovery paths, offering hope to others (Summer Contreras, Pat Dugan, Kyra Merryman, Ayden Widmer). We are grateful to each of you for your advocacy and leadership!

OCD SoCal is looking forward to seeing everyone at our San Diego One Million Steps for OCD Walk, to be held Saturday, June 1 at the La Jolla Shores Hotel! If you haven’t already, register today!

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OCD SoCal Attends NAMI’s 2nd Annual Imperial County Walk

After attending NAMI’s inaugural Imperial County walk last year, OCD SoCal is proud to again have supported this event this past weekend, Saturday April 13! It was a beautiful day for a walk around the Imperial Valley Mall in El Centro, and OCD SoCal sponsored a table at NAMI’s Wellness Fair inside the mall after the walk. We were able to connect with individuals with OCD, friends, or loved ones, and share information about OCD resources and events. The OCD SoCal swag was a hit, especially with the many kids who attended the event! It was also a great opportunity to meet individuals from the local community interested in volunteering with OCD SoCal as well as connecting with clinicians and local resources in the area. OCD SoCal looks forward to expanding our outreach through collaborations in Imperial County! 

If you would like to support NAMI and their incredible work, please visit the NAMI Imperial County walk page. 

If you are from the Imperial Valley area and are interested in our events, and/or collaborating or volunteering with OCD SoCal for future events, we’d love to hear from you! info@ocdsocal.org