Please join us for the September Family and Loved One’s OCD Support Group that is being held virtually this Saturday, September 14th, from 11 AM to 1 PM PST. To receive the Zoom link for the event please emailinfo@ocdsocal.org and include all the email addresses you would like to receive the Zoom link.
The support group is open to anyone from anywhere who is interested in joining. The event is titled, “It Takes a Village.”
We are honored to have six guests for our upcoming support group. Please click on their links below to learn more about each of our guests.
The focus of the support group is to help you, the loved one, learn to navigate your role as part of a support system for the person in your life with OCD. The discussion will focus on both clinical and lived-experience insights on how parents, family members, spouses, and loved ones can ensure that their support is beneficial and in-line with the loved one’s recovery, without causing any additional hardships.
After opening statements and introductions, Natasha Daniels, LCSW, and Kim Vicente will speak first. They are two mothers of children with OCD. They will talk about their personal experience as moms supporting their loved ones, what they learned and want to share with you about their personal experience and leave you with suggestions on how to best support your child with OCD. Then Chris Baier, a father of a daughter with OCD, will share his personal insight on raising a child with OCD and will give supportive direction to the fathers in attendance. Dr. Michelle Witkin and Krista Reed, LCSW, will discuss the importance of the role of the sibling in supporting the person with OCD. They will also discuss how to make sure that the sibling without OCD is still being nurtured while the family rallies together to help their loved one get better. At the end, Michelle Massi, LMFT, will present on how a clinician can help create harmony amongst the family, help identify family roles, and what treatment should look like when everyone is working together. Additionally, she’ll discuss the role of spouses and romantic partners supporting their loved one with OCD in a relationship.
For the second half of the group, we will open the panel up to answering questions from you in the audience. You can submit questions publicly or privately in the chat or raise your hand to ask a question out loud. The group will conclude with final thoughts and announcements.
See you for our September group on Saturday, the 14th from 11am – 1pm PST!
OCD is a difficult disorder to manage and recover from; you want all the resources at your disposal! OCD SoCal is supporting or offering these free and low cost events coming up in the months of September and October. We strongly encourage you and your loved ones impacted by OCD to attend these events that will feature education, resources, community, and hope! Email us at info@ocdsocal.org with any additional questions and we look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event!
OCD Gamechangers, a non-profit organization that specializes in hosting events that build community for individuals with OCD and their loved ones across the globe, is hosting an in-person event on Saturday, October 5th! This California Community Event is from 12 noon until 4pm PST, and is located at the KAW Theater (formally Open Stage) at 14366 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.
Their events are for individuals living with OCD, families, and therapists who treat or are interested in treating OCD. OCD Gamechangers events are designed to bring together community and create connection and create awareness on how OCD impacts individuals living with it. Speakers will share their stories of living with OCD / anxiety to inspire hope and to help audience members feel less alone.
On Saturday, October 12, 2024, from 11am to 2pm PST, the Family and Loved One’s OCD Support Group is teaming up with OCD Southern California to bring you a special OCD Awareness Week event! OCD Awareness Week is every second full week of October and it is a week focusing on spreading OCD awareness through educational and community events. This year, OCD Awareness Week 2024 is from Sunday, October 13 to Saturday, October 19. We are kicking off OCD Awareness Week on Saturday, October 12th with an event featuring special guest speakers and speakers from the OCD Southern California Board of Directors. We will be sharing the information on the speakers, the discussion topics, and more very soon. We are adding an hour to ensure there is more time for the Q&A with the event’s panelists!
If you are in the Southern California area and want to meet up with others who have OCD, board member Sue Chudy, LCSW, will be hosting an in-person community gathering event for OCD Awareness Week at Lefty’s Pizza! The event is on October 14th from 6 to 7:30pm in San Diego and will provide pizza and soft drinks to those who join. Come eat and hang out with other adults with OCD for awareness week. Email suechudylcsw@gmail.com to RSVP.
Are you a therapist interested in learning more about OCD? OCD Southern California board member Sue Chudy, LCSW, and San Diego Counsel Member for OCD SoCal, Katherine Pica, LCSW, are hosting a free, virtual training on October 18th from 10 am to 11:30am PST. With their combined 30+ years of experience in treatment of OCD, these clinicians will be providing introduction instruction on how to identify diagnostic criteria of OCD, learn about treatment options, and the difference between OCD and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The event concludes with a Q&A! Email suechudylcsw@gmail.com to RSVP.
On Saturday, October 19th, from 1pm to 5pm PST, we are holding an in person, OCD Awareness Week event in Orange County. The event will be held at the Costa Mesa Marriott in Costa Mesa, CA, near South Coast Plaza. This free event will include a light snack, beverages, and free parking. The event will include presentations on OCD and related disorders from local, OCD experts, and include an in person OCD support group led by licensed clinicians, that will allow you and your family impacted by OCD a chance to share, receive support, and connect with other families in a similar situation. For more information, and to register, visit here: Register Here for the Free OCD Awareness Week Event in Costa Mesa, CA!
In October, OCD Southern California will hold two, “One Million Steps For OCD Walks!” To learn more about the walks in general, as well as information on Denis Asselin and his son Nathaniel, the inspiration behind the OCD walks, please visit: https://iocdf.org/programs/ocd-walk/.
The Santa Clarita OCD Walk is being held on Saturday, October 19th from 10am to 12 noon. The event will feature an awareness walk, speakers, community events, and more. OCD SoCal is excited to announce that this is the first year the already successful Santa Clarita OCD Walk is part of OCD SoCal’s walks. The walk will be held at Bridgeport Park, located at 23521 Bridgeport Lane, Santa Clarita, CA, 91355. To register and learn more about the Santa Clarita OCD Walk, visit: https://support.iocdf.org/event/santa-clarita-ocd-walk/e597276
On Sunday, October 20th, OCD Southern California presents the Los Angeles “One Million Steps for OCD Walk!” This two hour walk starts at 11am and is being held at Pan Pacific Park located at 7600 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036. The event will features speakers, community activities, a walk, and more! To learn more and to register for the Los Angeles walk, please visit: https://support.iocdf.org/event/los-angeles-ocd-walk/e602080
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For more information on any of these events, please email us at info@ocdsocal.org. We will keep posting more updates on each event on our website, through our email updates, as well as our social media, so please be on the lookout for updates. You can email us to be on our mailing list and our social media sites are: www.instagram.com/ocdsocal and www.Facebook.com/OCDSoCal. We hope to see you at one, or all, of our upcoming events!
This Saturday, August 10th from 11-1pm PST, Dr. C. Alec Pollard will be the guest at the free, virtual Family & Loved One’s OCD Support Group! Alec Pollard, Ph.D., who just received the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)’s Outstanding Achievement Award, will be discussing his book “When A Loved One Won’t Seek Mental Health Treatment!”
This is a must attend for family members and loved ones of an individual who either doesn’t accept their OCD diagnosis, refuses to seek treatment, or attends treatment, but doesn’t put much work into it. Additionally, he will discuss common treatment barriers that will be valuable for people with OCD to hear.
Email info@ocdsocal.org and ask for the free Zoom link and we look forward to seeing you this Saturday! 👋🏼
You are invited! For any of our members who are attending the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF)’s Annual OCD Conference in Orlando, Florida, which is happening July 25-28, please join us for the annual OCD SoCal meeting at the conference! Meet the OCD SoCal Board of Directors, fellow members, and have your opinions heard! Find out what is coming up for the affiliate in 2025 and share your ideas! The meeting is also in the conference program.
OCD SoCal General Interest Meeting Friday, July 26, 12:45 pm – 2:15 pm ET Silver Spring Room
If you are not signed up for the conference, there is still time. This year the conference is also offering a virtual option. For more information, see below:
29th Annual OCD Conference July 25–28, 2024 | Hyatt Regency Orlando For all those impacted by OCD and related disorders, mental health professionals, and researchers.
The Annual OCD Conference is the largest national event focused solely on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders. This extraordinary event brings together individuals with OCD, their loved ones, and mental health professionals under the same roof with the goal of educating attendees about the latest treatments, research, and practice in OCD and related disorders.
