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 a pre-event featuring special guest speakers, as well as speakers from the OCD Southern California Board of Directors. We are adding an extra hour to ensure there is more time for the Q&A with the event’s panelists!
If you are not already on our mailing list, please email info@ocdsocal.org with “OCD Awareness Week 2024 Event” in the subject link. In the email, please include all the email addresses you would like the Zoom link sent to. Then, just simply log in at the event’s start time! See you there.
Here is agenda that includes more information on each presenter (click their names to be redirected to their website to learn more about the presenter) and their presentation topics. The presentations will begin at the start of the event and then a Q&A featuring our presenters will follow:
“How to Stay Motivated and Hold Yourself Accountable with Kindness” – Kimberley Quinlan, LMFT
We are often hard on ourselves expecting that this harsh manner will inspire and motivate us to work harder in OCD treatment–and in life. However, research shows that beating yourself up creates negative thinking and unhealthy habits. Kimberley Quinlan, who wrote “The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD,” will discuss how one with OCD can stay motivated and hold themselves accountable in OCD treatment without being mean!
“Taming the Intrusive Thoughts in my Head: My OCD Recovery Story” – Alegra Kastens, LMFT
Alegra Kastens, LMFT, has been living most of her life with OCD. Her OCD first showed up as taboo and disturbing intrusive thoughts. After receiving an OCD diagnosis and proper treatment, Alegra fought her way through recovery and now has come full circle–treating OCD as a licensed clinician and advocates for the disorder on some of the world’s largest platforms. You do not want to miss Alegra’s heroic story as she goes into details about the dark times one with OCD can experience and sharing with attendees the pain of having intrusive thoughts take over the mind.
“Pharmacotherapy of OCD” – Dr. Sanjaya Saxena
This presentation will review evidence-based medication treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Dr. Saxena will discuss which medications are effective for OCD and which ones are not, the doses and duration of treatment required for effective pharmacotherapy of OCD, and myths and misconceptions about psychiatric medications. He will cover serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) – the first-line medications for OCD, as well as secondary and augmentation strategies for patients who do not have adequate response to SRIs. Dr. Saxena will also discuss other related topics, including comorbidity, assessment, treatment planning, predictors of treatment response, practice guidelines, multimodal treatment combining pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), intensive treatment, mechanisms of action of pharmacotherapy, and the neurobiology of treatment response in OCD.
“An Overview Neuromodulation Treatment for OCD” – Dr. Adam Frank
There are many treatment options for OCD including therapy, medications, and neuromodulation. This talk will follow Dr. Saxena’s presentation where Dr. Saxena speaks on the basics about 1st- and 2nd-line medications used in treating OCD. Dr. Frank’s talk will provide an overview of neuromodulation techniques for OCD, including treatments like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS). These treatments may interest someone who is not responding well to medications and wants to try other medical interventions to treat the OCD.
“Loving Someone with OCD” – Andrew Cohen, LMFT, and Danielle Cohen, LMFT
Andrew and Danielle Cohen are a married couple who have both been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The couple will open up and share how they both support each other though their struggles with the disorder, especially since Andrew’s relationship OCD (ROCD) can create distress between them. In addition to discussing how they support each other they will address how they create strong boundaries and prevent themselves from giving each other reassurance. In addition to being a couple, they are both licensed therapists specializing in the treatment of OCD and anxiety.
“What is Learned Helplessness and How Do You ‘Unlearn’ It?” – Chris Trondsen, LMFT
When loved ones experience hardships, we offer our support. But what happens when that struggle becomes constant? A psychological concept known as “learned helplessness” occurs. This is when, after repeated adversities, someone no longer trusts themselves to manage challenging times; they become dependent on others. Eventually, the person with OCD believes they’re incapable of helping themselves, with those around them reinforcing this belief.
However, learned helplessness isn’t a permanent condition. As families reduce accommodations, it instills trust. Stepping back tells their loved one ‘I trust you can handle difficult situations independently–I believe in you.’ This presentation on learned helplessness will discuss how helplessness occurs and effective treatment strategies to ‘unlearn’ it, leaving you ready to empower your loved one!
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After these presentations conclude, the event will open up to a Q&A, allowing attendees to ask our panelists questions on either the presentation topics or questions about your own personal situation. The event will not be recorded to ensure the privacy of attendees, so we ask you attend live if you are interested.
The event will be co-facilitated by Chris Trondsen, LMFT, and his mom, a parent of a son with OCD, Liz Trondsen. OCD SoCal board member, Sue Chudy, LCSW, will be assisting the group’s facilitators by answering questions in the chat and providing resources in real-time. We look forward to kicking off OCD Awareness Week with you! See you there!
