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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

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OCD Southern California Thanks The Sponsors of Our Orange County Speakers Series Event!

As part of OCD SoCal’s mission, we want to make sure that our events are accessible and affordable to all. In order to put on excellent events while keeping the registration costs low, we rely on sponsors from the OCD community to help support this mission. The Orange County Speaker Series is able to provide a catered meal, refreshments, complimentary parking, a superb location, and a movie screening at a low cost because of this year’s sponsors.

We are appreciative of our generous sponsors for this community event:

Curtis Hsia, PhD, is the Director of OC Anxiety Center, located in Mission Viejo. The OC Anxiety Center clinician use empirically supported treatments tailored to each individual to help overcome anxiety and related disorders. In addition to providing clinical services, the clinicians frequently give pro bono lectures to local schools, parent teacher associations, churches and professional groups, and offer a monthly support group. The center is dedicated to contributing to the body of knowledge through which therapy is improved by engaging in research and actively publishing/presenting findings at national and international conferences. https://ocanxietycenter.com

Jennifer O’Connor, PhD, specializes in anxiety, OCD and OCD spectrum disorders, eating issues, body image and additional areas. She has clinical associates who provide treatment as well under her supervision.Dr. O’Connor provides evidenced-based therapy in a compassionate and supportive environment. If you or your loved one is struggling with fear, anxiety, insecurity, or emotional pain, you deserve to receive therapy that is effective and efficient, tailored to your specific needs, and sensitive to your personal values. https://drjenniferoconnor.com

Newport Healthcare (Orange County, Mallery Stone, Clinical Outreach Specialist), provides specialized OCD treatment for teens and young adults.  To achieve long-term healing from obsessive-compulsive disorder, young people need treatment that provides more than symptom relief. Newport Healthcare’s specialized OCD programming addresses both the manifestations and the underlying causes of this disorder, using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy as part of a comprehensive, integrated treatment model. https://www.newporthealthcare.com

Roger’s Behavioral Health (Los Angeles, Amy Prout, West Coast Communications Liaison lead)- At Rogers, we’ve been helping people find a path to recovery for more than 115 years. We’re here to do the same today in the Los Angeles community by providing highly effective OCD treatment and compassionate care for those struggling with their mental health. As our third location in California, Rogers is honored to further meet the need for quality mental health treatment nationwide. Building from our San Francisco East Bay and San Diego clinics, the LA location offers specialized OCD treatment services for patients in need of the next level of partial hospitalization (PHP) and intensive outpatient (IOP) care. Patients receive evidence-based, individualized treatment led by board-certified psychiatrists and a multidisciplinary team of experts. https://rogersbh.org/locations/los-angeles-ca

Westwood Institute for Anxiety Disorders, Inc. was founded in 1994 by Eda Gorbis, PhD.  The clinicians specialize in treating OCD, BDD, Social Phobia, Specific Phobias, Eating Disorders, Compulsive Sexual Behaviors and other disorders.  Dr. Gorbis has successfully treated numerous patients from many parts of the world suffering from severe OCD, and has trained many clinicians from the United States and across the world on her intensive integrated method. WI offers twice/week, three times/week intensive programs. https://www.hope4ocd.com/index.php

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SIGN UP TODAY TO REGISTER FOR OCD SoCal’s IN-PERSON, APRIL 6th Orange County SPEAKERS SERIES!

OCD Southern California is happy to announce the return of the Speakers Series this April 2024! These low-cost ($15 per person), in-person events will feature presentations by local OCD specialist treatment providers. They will facilitate panels and presentations on OCD and related disorders and host a question-and-answer segment. Note: The San Diego, Inland Empire, and Los Angeles Speaker Series are now sold out. The Orange County location has limited capacity and is close to filling up as well. If you are interested, please register as soon as possible!

We are providing 3 CE credits to clinicians at the Orange County location. We welcome OCD therapists as well as non-OCD clinicians who would like to learn about OCD treatment. The cost to attend for CE credits is $45.00. CE credits are for continuing education activities for clinicians; these are not for the general public.

Note: Each location has its own unique Eventbrite sign-up page. For each venue’s specific registration link, see below.

Registration links:

Orange County: Register HERE to sign-up for the Orange County Speakers Series!

Inland Empire: The Inland Empire Speakers Series is Sold Out.

San Diego: The San Diego Speakers Series is Sold Out.

Los Angeles: The Los Angeles Speakers Series is Sold Out.

For the agenda and program of the Orange County Speakers Series, including each presentation’s title and description, please click here:

4/6 Orange County Speakers Series: CLICK HERE FOR PRESENTATION TITLES AND DESCRIPTION

For information on each Speakers Series location’s presenters, including their names, clinical titles, websites, and bios, please click here:

4/6 Orange County Speakers Series: CLICK HERE FOR PRESENTERS’ INFORMATION

4/7 Inland Empire Speakers Series: CLICK HERE FOR PRESENTERS’ INFORMATION

4/20 San Diego Speakers Series: CLICK HERE FOR PRESENTERS’ INFORMATION

4/21 Los Angeles Speakers Series: CLICK HERE FOR PRESENTERS’ INFORMATION

For more information on the Speakers Series events, including each location’s official flyers, please visit:

www.ocdsocal.org/speakerseries

These events are open to individuals with OCD, their family members and loved ones, mental health providers, students, and the general public. Please join us at your local event, or feel free to attend all four!

Email us with any questions at info@ocdsocal.org. OCD SoCal does not want registration costs to prevent you or your family from attending. Please email us and ask us for a scholarship, which will waive registration costs.