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!
This month’s lecture will feature Chris Trondsen, MS, LMFT, presenting “An Overview of Body Dysmorphic Disorder: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment.” Chris Trondsen, LMFT, is a BDD and OCD specialist, a member of the IOCDF’s BDD Special Interest Group (SIG), has presented at conferences around the world on the topic including the BDD Foundation’s Conference in the UK, and has been featured on podcasts discussing BDD. Additionally, he has BDD himself.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is an OCD-related disorder where an individual fixates on their appearance, often focused on particular body parts, and feel they look ugly, deformed, and are not deserving of love or affection. They often camouflage their appearance, isolate, withdraw, and seek out cosmetic interventions to fix their perceived appearance “flaws.” Visit: the IOCDF’s BDD website for more information on BDD.
Chris Trondsen’s presentation will focus on how to recognize BDD, how clinicians can diagnose it, what makes BDD unique among other image disorders, the diagnostic criteria one must meet to receive a diagnosis of BDD, the treatment of BDD, and some of his personal experiences with the disorder. It will be followed by a Q&A!
We hope many of you will join or pass it on to anyone who may find information on BDD useful. We will see you there! To sign up for the event to get the Zoom link, please visit: https://www.ocdnc.org/ocd-lecture-series. The lecture will be on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, from 7-8pm ET (4-5pm PT). You’ll receive a Zoom link / reminder in advance of the meeting.
OCD Southern California board members Chris Trondsen, LMFT, a clinician with OCD, and his mom, Liz Trondsen, are excited to invite you to our March, virtual, free Family and Loved Ones OCD Support Group.
It will be held this Saturday, March 14 for two hours, from 11 AM – 1 PM PST.
Brooke Miller will be joining us to discuss her life experience as a person with OCD. Email info@ocdsocal.org to request the Zoom link!
Brooke has lived with OCD since childhood and has experienced multiple subtypes, including contamination, perfectionism, moral scrupulosity, and relationship OCD. Her journey has included ERP treatment, eating disorder recovery, and navigating additional diagnoses like panic disorder, Bipolar II, and PTSD.
She is a parent of two children with OCD, her 13-year-old son (also diagnosed with PANDAS) and her 11-year-old daughter who was recently diagnosed. She speaks from both lived experience and the ongoing reality of parenting kids with OCD.
– What OCD can actually look like in kids (beyond stereotypes)
–Parenting a child with OCD while also managing your own OCD
– How to support kids through ERP (and manage accommodations vs. support)
– Navigating school, family dynamics, and daily life with OCD
– The emotional impact on parents/caregivers (guilt, fear, burnout)
– Hope and recovery and what progress really looks like
Please join us this Saturday for a wealth of information on both living with OCD and parenting children with OCD!
We will see you this Saturday, March 14th from 11 AM -1 PM PST!
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. Email info@ocdsocal.org to request the Zoom link!
OCD Southern California is excited to invite you to join OCD SoCal board members Chris Trondsen, LMFT, and his mom, Liz Trondsen as they join Shannon Shy as the next guests in his series, “90 Minutes with the Icons of the OCD Recovery Community!”
The event is Sunday, December 21st, 2025, starting at 9am PST (12 noon ET) and is 90 minutes long, ending at 10:30am PST (1:30pm ET).
Once a month, Shannon Shy, the 2010 Keynote speaker for the IOCDF’s annual OCD conference, brings on leading experts, as well as people from the OCD community, to share their stories, provide hope, and answer questions.
This Sunday, December 21st, Chris and Liz Trondsen will be his guests and share their talk titled, “Rise Beyond OCD: Answers, Insight, and Inspiration to Move Forward!” Email us at info@ocdsocal.org and request the free Zoom link!
Here’s some additional information on this Sunday’s free, virtual presentation:
Title: Rise Beyond OCD: Answers, Insight, & Inspiration to Move Forward – A part of Shannon Shy’s ’90 Minutes with the Icons of the OCD Recovery Community.’
Day & Time: Sunday, December 21, 2025 at 9 AM PST (12 PM EST) for 90 minutes.
Event Description: Chris Trondsen and his mother Liz stepped into the international spotlight of OCD recovery when they jointly gave the keynote address at the 2011 International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) conference.
Chris suffered severely for many years with OCD (he also suffered with Body Dysmorphic Disorder, anxiety, depression and panic attacks) and eventually found treatment and his path to recovery aided by the loving support of Liz and the family.
Chris is now a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) treating OCD and related disorders at The Gateway Institute in Southern California, sits on the Board of Directors for the IOCDF and OCD SoCal, and has become one of the most well-known voices of OCD recovery.
Liz also sits on the OCD SoCal Board of Directors and facilitates the OCD Support Group for Families and Loved Ones.
We hope you join Shannon, Chris and Liz for 90 minutes to listen to a talk of hope, recovery tips, and tangible action items to support your recovery journey!
Their presentation if followed by a Q&A session. Email us at info@ocdsocal.org and request the free Zoom link!
About the event’s host: Shannon Shy – Certified Peer Recovery Specialist
Shannon is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist and an attorney who retired from the United States Marine Corps Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2007 and from federal civil service with the Department of the Navy in 2022 after thirty years of total service. Diagnosed with a severe case of OCD in 1997 while on active duty, he underwent treatment and developed his own strategy to successfully overcome OCD. Shannon was the Keynote Speaker at the 2010 Annual IOCDF Conference and served on the IOCDF Board of Directors from 2011 – 2018, when he resigned his position as President to go serve in Afghanistan.
He has written three books on overcoming OCD, operated a Facebook page about OCD recovery, produced an online course about his peer support methodology and has successfully provided peer support to OCD sufferers since 2016 worldwide.
In 2016, the State of Virginia certified him as a Peer Recovery Specialist. He has successfully worked with hundreds of clients around the world. His Turning Points Method to OCD Recovery members site contains a wealth of resources created by him to aid people in recovery.
We look forward to having you join us this Sunday, December 21st at 9am PST for 90 minutes! Make sure to email info@ocdsocal.org for the event’s Zoom link!
