Our Vice President, Chris Trondsen, LMFT, had the opportunity to be interviewed by The New York Times for their Psych 101 column on the topic of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)! BDD is an obsessive-compulsive related disorder where individuals fixate on a specific feature or features of their appearance and become obsessed with that body part(s). Over time, they believe these flaws are making them repulsive and disgusting looking to others, and because of this they isolate, become obsessed with “fixing” their appearance, consider themselves ugly, experience severe depression, and may become suicidal.
Chris Trondsen, LMFT, spoke both about his lived experience with the disorder, as well as contributed to the article as a clinician. One of his clients previously suffering from BDD discussed her recovery journey after receiving a BDD diagnosis from Chris Trondsen, LMFT.
The article also features top BDD researchers and offers an explanation to why people with BDD see themselves differently than others. This article is recommended for anyone suffering from BDD, body image disorders, and other disorders that affects how someone feels about their appearance. The article also offers hope to people suffering from BDD that they can get better.
The article is also great for any clinician interested in treating BDD and related image disorders.
Here is a gifted link that allows readers to enjoy the article at no cost for 30 days via the articles author from the New York Times, Christina Caron: Click here to read the article:New York Times article on BDD. Please share the article with anyone who may benefit from this material!
Registration is now open for the San Diego OCD Walk! We will meet at the beautiful La Jolla Shores Hotel and walk down the ocean boardwalk to the Scripps Pier. Join us in raising awareness, fighting stigma, and supporting those affected by OCD. We welcome EVERYONE including individuals with OCD, family, friends, clinicians, researchers, and trainees – it takes a village!
Date: Saturday, June 6, 2026 Time: 9:00am to 12:00pm PT Location: La Jolla Shores Hotel Garden Patio La Jolla, CA
This is an amazing event and we don’t want to miss you – sign up today! Registration is FREE, but walkers who raise at least $75 will get a t-shirt!
The OCD Southern California Speaker Series conference is being held on Saturday, May 30, 2026 from 10am – 3pm PT. Check-in for the event will open at 9:30am. We suggest you arrive early for check-in and then the event will begin promptly at 10am. If you have not registered for the event, there are still low-cost tickets available. Your registration includes a catered meal, beverages, and free parking. For more information and to register, visit: https://ocdspeakerseries.eventbrite.com.
Our event program, which will include full talk descriptions, is coming soon. The program will be posted on the main page of our website, as well as our official Speaker Series page on our website (https://ocdsocal.org/programs/speakerseries/).
Here is the agenda for the event, that includes a rundown of the day’s events, titles of the presentations, and details of the break-out sessions being offered:
Registration: 9:30amPT
The event will be at Orange Coast College located at 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626. Please park in parking lots C, D and E, which are adjacent to the College Center Building. This is the building where the event is being held. Parking is free on Saturdays (please do not park in staff parking). After parking, please proceed to where the event is being held, in the College Center Building, and go up to the third floor where the check-in desk is located. You do not need to bring your EventBrite ticket; we have the names of everyone who registered and will check you in at the check-in table.
Introduction and Welcome: 10 – 10:15amPT
An OCD Southern California board member (http://ocdsocal.org/about-us/board-of-directors/) will welcome attendees, go over the day’s events, and announce additional important information. Then the event’s presentations will begin.
The event is offering 12 total presentations with a final 13th presentation featuring all of the day’s speakers for an “Ask the Expert” Q&A Panel. If you scroll below, you will notice that the day is split into 4 sessions. During the first 3 sessions there are four talks being offered simultaneously and you can pick which one you would like to attend. Then the Q&A panel is for everyone in attendance.
Again this year, we are offering 3 continuing education credits (CEs) for licensed clinicians (LMFTs, LPCCs, LCSWs, and psychologists). These talks, specifically for mental health providers, will be held in the venue’s ballroom and will be held at the same time as the talks for the general public. NOTE: Pre-licensed trainees, students, and other mental health providers in the field are welcome to attend the CE talks. However, we are not able to offer CE’s to those attendees. Therefore, you can register as a general attendee. We thank USC for sponsoring the CEs!
Treating OCD: Assessment to Maintenance – Curtis Hsia, PhD OC Anxiety Center
Lunch: 12:30pmPT
Orange Coast College is providing a catered lunch and beverages. There will be different food options to choose from; you will select your preferred option at check-in. The lunches are provided in portable dinnerware. We ask you to bring your food into the room of the presentation you are choosing to watch during session three. Thank you to OCD Anxiety Centers for sponsoring the catered lunch.
Maximizing Your Insurance Benefits to Cover OCD Treatment – Michelle Malloy, MFT, PMH-C OC-Therapy and Megan Alberoni, MA, BCBA
More Than OCD: Real Stories of Recovery and Living Fully – Jennie Kuckertz, PhD – Jennie M. Kuckertz, PhD | McLean Hospital, Cathy Agostino, Dylan Mitchell, Gur Yilmaz, and Jarret Lovell.
Ask The Experts: Summary Q&A Panel – All of the event’s presenters
Please join us for an opportunity to ask questions of a panel consisting of all of the event’s presenters. This is an opportunity to ask any of the questions you were unable to ask during the day, or if you were unable to attend one of the presentaitons, that talk’s presenters will be able to answer your questions at this panel. The panel will consist of leading OCD experts and will be held in the ballroom.
Opportunity Drawing
Additionally, for those still in attendance at the end of our OCD Southern California Speaker Series conference event, we will be hosting an opportunity drawing for an opportunity to win gift card prizes! The ticket to win is already included with your registration at no additional cost!
Event Concludes: 3:00pmPT
On your way out, please make sure to sign up for OCD Southern California’s mailing list, our free and virtual Family and Loved One’s OCD Support Group, and complete a quick evaluation of the event.
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We look forward to seeing everyone at the Speaker Series event. Make sure to register before the event is sold out! For more information and to register for the event, click here: https://ocdspeakerseries.eventbrite.com.
A reminder, OCD Southern California is offering 3 CEs for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, and Psychologists who attend the CE track of this event!
Chris Trondsen, LMFT, a clinician with OCD, and his mom, Liz Trondsen, are excited to remind you about our May, virtual, free Family and Loved Ones OCD Support Group. It will be held Saturday, May 9, for two hours, from 11 AM – 1 PM PDT. This support group is every second Saturday of the month, from 11am to 1pm Pacific Time. It is a free, virtual support group available to anyone from anywhere!
To join the support group, email info@ocdsocal.org and simply request the event’s Zoom link or for more information!
Our guest for the Saturday, May 9th, Family and Loved Ones’ OCD Support Group is author, speaker, trainer, and leader in the field, C. Alec Pollard, Ph.D. As group facilitators, it is our mission to bring top-notch guests to each of our support groups to address different aspects of loving and supporting someone with OCD. The support group is 2 hours, from 11am to 1pm Pacific Time, and will start with our guest, Dr. Alec Pollard, discussing relevant information to attendees with a loved one suffering from OCD. The second half will feature a question-and-answer segment where attendees can ask live questions, or ask them publicly or anonymously in the chat! Here is more information on the details to be discussed on May 9th, as well as information on our guest speaker, Dr. Pollard!
We often hear from attendees that they are struggling to get their loved one into OCD treatment, either for the first time or to treatment after a previous negative experience with therapy. Alec will address this problem, including ways to discuss treatment with your loved one, how to reduce accommodations and enabling, reducing home stress, and ultimately, what you, the loved one, can do to improve the situation even if your loved one is not involved in the treatment plan.
Additionally, many of you have a loved one in OCD treatment, yet they are falling short of hitting their treatment goals, and it feels as if they are not giving their “all” in treatment. Alec Pollard, Ph.D., will address potential treatment-interfering behaviors (TIBs) at play, the role of supporters, ways to help your loved one be more successful in treatment, and, ultimately, how to address a loved one in treatment who is not experiencing much success.
Dr. Pollard will draw on both his clinical expertise and material from his popular book, “When a Loved One Won’t Seek Mental Health Treatment.” You will learn ways to improve your family’s current situation, even if your loved one is not in treatment or is not interested in collaborating if they are. This talk will be for family members, loved ones, spouses, friends, and anyone supporting a person in their life with OCD. People with OCD, educators, therapists, and anyone interested in the material are welcome to join!
Alec Pollard, Ph.D., will then answer your questions during the Q&A before the group’s conclusion!
Here is Dr. Pollard’s bio:
Dr. Pollard is Founding Director of the Center for OCD and Anxiety-Related Disorders at Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute and Professor Emeritus of Family and Community Medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He is a licensed psychologist who works with a range of obsessive-compulsive and anxiety-related disorders, with a special interest in obstacles that inhibit the pursuit of recovery or interfere with effective participation in treatment. He is on the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation and chairs the organization’s Training Committee, including a national training initiative called the Behavior Therapy Training Institute. Dr. Pollard is former chair of the Clinical Advisory Board of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and has authored or coauthored over 100 publications, including his most recent book entitled When a Loved One Won’t Seek Mental Health Treatment: How to Promote Recovery and Reclaim Your Family’s Well-Being, now available in Spanish.
We will see you Saturday, May 9th, from 11 AM – 1 PM PDT!
The event is open to loved ones, family members and spouses of someone with OCD, as well as people with OCD—or anyone else interested.
To join the support group, email info@ocdsocal.org and simply request the event’s Zoom link or for more information!
The support group facilitators:
Chris Trondsen suffered with severe OCD and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) until receiving specialized treatment. No longer under the control of the disorders, Chris is now a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) at the Gateway Institute in Costa Mesa. He received his bachelor’s degree in human development and psychology from California State University, Long Beach. Additionally, Chris earned a Master of Science (M.S.) Degree in Counseling at California State University, Fullerton. Chris is on the Board of Directors for the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), as well as in leadership for four of their special interest groups (SIG) including the BDD SIG, Trauma & Grief SIG, and others. He also currently serves as the Vice President of the IOCDF’s Southern California Affiliate (OCD Southern California – OCD So Cal), leading efforts in OCD awareness and education in the local community. Chris is a national speaker on OCD and was the keynote speaker at the International OCD Foundation’s yearly conference in 2011. He continues to be a regular presenter at the IOCDF’s annual conferences. At the annual conference, Chris helped create the Young Adult Track, which is now an essential part of the conference’s program.
Liz Trondsen is the mother of a son with mental illness. When her son, Chris, was diagnosed at age twenty, she was able to locate a treatment center in Los Angeles where he received excellent cognitive behavioral therapy. From a young man consumed with obsessions and compulsions, Liz watched her son regain his life, graduate college, and now work to help others fight this disorder. Liz helps to facilitate a Family Support Group online that brings families and people with OCD together to provide support, suggestions and hope to one another. Liz graduated from CSULB with a bachelor’s in science in Dietetics and Food Administration and completed her dietetic internship in Detroit, Michigan. Liz spent her career working in hospitals, as a Food Service Director and a Clinical Nutrition Manager. Since retiring in 2024, Liz has focused her interests on nutrition and mental health. With the others on this panel, she has presented twice at the IOCDF conference and presents an update annually to the Family and Loved One’s OCD Support Group.
