Articles by Jennie Kuckertz

Each year, the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) sponsors “One Million Steps For OCD” walks (https://iocdf.org/programs/ocd-walk/) around the country to bring together members of the local OCD communities to raise awareness, hope, and funds to the support the important programs of the IOCDF and partnering local affiliates, including OCD Southern California!

Join OCD SoCal for our “One Million Steps For OCD” walks in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, or Inland Empire in the month of June to raise awareness, hope, and funds to the support the IOCDF and OCD Southern California!

Schedule for all walks is as follows:

Check in, onsite registration, and t-shirt distribution

Opening remarks and group photo (opt-in)

Walk Picnic, presentations, and community mingle events

(For specific start times for each activity, please visit each individual location’s registration page since times vary based on location)

Registration Links:

San Diego Walk
Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 9:00am
La Jolla Shores Hotel, Garden Patio | 8110 Camino Del Oro, La Jolla, CA 92037

San Diego – register here!

Los Angeles Walk
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 10:30am
Pan Pacific Park | 7600 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Los Angeles – register here!

Orange County Walk
Saturday, June 17, 2023 at 9:30am
Wakeham Park | 3400 Smalley St, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Orange County – register here!

Inland Empire Walk
Saturday, June 24, 2023 at 10:00am
Olympic Park, West Pavilion | 6010 Southwestern St. Chino, CA 91710

Inland Empire – register here!

Main walk registration page to look for walks under a person or team name, visit: https://iocdf.org/programs/ocdwalk/search/

OCD SoCal is proud to partner with the IOCDF in hosting walks in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Inland Empire. You can learn more about the history of the “One Million Steps For OCD” walk and how to get involved in your local OCD SoCal walk by visiting the IOCDF website.

So sign up today and join us as we spread OCD awareness to our local communities!

Interested in participating in OCD research? Researchers at USC are looking for volunteers for their study, “Tracking Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms and predicting response to treatment using Fitbit, neuroimaging, and smartphone surveys” For more information, check out their study flyer or read on!

Study Overview: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a chronic, impairing disorder characterized by unwanted obsessions and/or compulsions. Not all persons with OCD are alike, resulting in a wide variety of symptoms, illness course, and response to treatment. The purpose of our OCD research study is to better understand differences in OCD symptoms and to predict both illness course and response to treatment. By comparing data from participants with OCD and healthy volunteers without OCD, we hope to provide enhanced treatments to future patients.

Study Length: 10 weeks

Number of Visits: 3 in-person visits (initial visit, 2-week checkup, end-of-study visit).  Daily survey sent via SMS-based text messaging (~5min).  Biweekly survey sent via SMS-based text messaging (~1min).

Procedures: Surveys (in-person and self-administered), Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Fitbit worn 24/7, For individuals with OCD, we will ask when SSRI medication is started by your doctor and if changes are made (like adjusting the dose or switching to a new medication)

Compensation: Participants will receive compensation for their time and effort and will be able to keep the Fitbit at the study end.

For questions about this study, contact:
Dr. Adam Frank
323-230-0162
adam.frank@med.usc.edu

The OCD Southern California Board of Directors would like to personally thank you for attending our virtual OCD Awareness Week 2022 event, which we held on October 15, 2022. We have received positive feedback from the presentations and are honored that 300+ attendees from around the globe tuned in to help build a successful event and offer support to others in the community. We also want to extend another huge thank you to Eric Storch, Ph.D., for being our special guest speaker at the event!

Please check back with us on our website and social media for more information on our upcoming events, including our in-person, Costa Mesa, CA, holiday event happening Saturday, December 10th at 4-7pm PST (more information to come). Also, if you would like to be a volunteer for OCD SoCal and help us carry out our mission, please let us know! Many thanks to our presenters for making their slides available, which we are excited to share here.

Click below to download slides from each talk:

Click below for video recordings from each talk:

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) 101 For OCD (Dr. Jennie Kuckertz, PhD & Dr. Evelyn Gould PhD)

Maintaining Motivation in OCD Treatment: Lived & Clinical Experience (Chris Trondsen, LMFT, APCC, Andrew Cohen, LMFT, and Shannon Switzer, Peer Support Specialist)

Pharmacological Treatment for OCD (Dr. Sepehr “Sheperd” Aziz, D.O.)

Navigating the Family Accommodation Trap with Compassion and Confidence

Treatment for Kids with OCD and What is Next in the Field (Dr. Eric Storch, PhD)

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in collaboration with the University of North Carolina are conducting an international study on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in Latin American, Hispanic, and Brazilian people. OCD is a complex disorder involving intrusive thoughts leading to unwanted, repetitive behaviors that can cause distress and affect a person’s quality of life. The Latin American Trans-ancestry INitiative for OCD genomics (LATINO) study aims to better understand how OCD might be different based on for people of Latin American ancestry while increasing the diversity of OCD genetic databases. This information is crutial to understanding how OCD’s causes, symptoms, and eventually, treatments, could vary by race and ethnicity. LATINO is highly collaborative, partnering with OCD clinics in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru, and México, as well as clinics in the U.S. including Houston, Miami, New Jersey, San Diego, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Eligible participants ages 7-89 will complete questionnaires, participate in a session with a trained clinician to assess OCD symptoms, and provide a saliva (spit) sample. LATINO can be conducted in-person or virtually. If you are interested, would like more information, or would like to see if you are eligible for the study, please see www.latinostudy.org or contact latinostudy@bcm.edu or (713) 798 -7765.