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Posts Tagged with ocd

Published December 20, 2025

Join Us Sunday, December 21st at 9am PST for the talk ‘Rise Beyond OCD: Answers, Insight and Inspiration to Move Forward!’

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.’

Guests: Chris Trondsen, LMFT & Liz Trondsen. Read Chris and Liz’s Bios Here

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.



Shannon Shy’s Unconditional Commitment Club
www.ocdrecoveryturningpoints.com

Join Shannon Shy every month for a 90-minute interview and audience Q&A session with the icons of the OCD Recovery Community!

For upcoming guests, visit Shannon’s website.

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!

Published December 12, 2025

You are Invited to “An OCD Master Class: Family & Loved Ones’ Edition” at this Saturday’s Free, Online Family & Loved Ones OCD Support Group!

Every second Saturday of the month, from 11am to 1pm PST, OCD SoCal board members Chris Trondsen, LMFT, and Liz Trondsen host a virtual, free, Family & Loved Ones OCD Support Group. To join us for our December support group, which is Saturday, December 13, 2025, from 11am to 1pm PST, please email us at info@ocdsocal.org and just request the link! Anyone from anywhere can join!

An OCD Master Class: Family & Loved Ones’ Edition

For the final group of 2025, on Saturday, December 13th, we invite you to an OCD master class that addresses all aspects of OCD and its treatment. We receive so many questions during our Family & Loved Ones Support Group, that we will focus on this for the December support group. We have invited two experts in the field.

However, you do not want to miss the opening discussion that precedes the Q&A. We have invited Lauren Rosen, LMFT, the author of the upcoming “The Mental Compulsions Workbook for OCD.” Additionally, we will be joined by USC Psychiatrist and researcher, Adam Frank, Ph.D., MD. These two special guests will lend their expertise to lead a complete master class on OCD. 

The opening discussion will incorporate key OCD topics that include: what to do if your loved one has stubborn or difficult to treat OCD, how your loved one can get better if their OCD is predominantly mental, expectations on improvement during different stages of OCD treatment, how to find scientific-based resources for OCD, how one gets better from OCD, and what should family members and loved ones do or don’t do to make your loved one’s recovery more likely. Additional topics include a discussion on frontline medications for OCD treatment, what to expect regarding side effects and improvements, and a discussion on additional interventions that include TMS, ketamine, deep brain stimulation, and psychedelics.

We will kick off the group with a master class, so you have a solid understanding of every element of OCD recovery and treatment. We will then dedicate the second half to answering your specific questions that remain after the open discussion, either on what was discussed earlier or your personal situation.

Chris Trondsen, LMFT, who also has OCD, along with his mom, Liz Trondsen, will host the support group and provide additional insights and resources! Do not miss the final group of 2025!

The event is this Saturday, December 13th from 11AM – 1 PM PST. To join us for our December support group, please email us at info@ocdsocal.org and just request the link!

Learn more about our guest presenters:

Lauren Rosen, MA, LMFT is a psychotherapist and the Founder & Director of the Center for the Obsessive Mind. She is a well-respected member of the OCD and Anxiety Treatment Community. Lauren is the author of The Mental Compulsions Workbook for OCD. She regularly speaks at conferences on the topics of OCD, Anxiety and Eating Disorders and has offered lectures and keynote presentations on these topics, too. She is the co-host of the Purely OCD Podcast and an advocate for those with OCD and Anxiety Disorders.
While the center is based in Southern California, Lauren also works with individuals in Florida, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. She also offers services in select other states and countries as is permitted by law.
In her work as a therapist, Lauren specializes supporting people who struggle with OCD, Anxiety Disorders, Eating Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders. She also has experience supporting individuals in navigating trauma and depression.
Lauren thrives on supporting others to live full and rich lives while contending with a whole host of thoughts and feelings. Brains can be tricky. Learning how to operate them effectively is key! In the service of helping people navigate the ins and outs of their minds, Lauren’s work focuses on evidence-based treatments, like Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure & Response Prevention and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. 
Lauren trained at the OCD Center of LA and under Elyse Resch MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, Fiaedp, FADA, FAND, Nutrition Therapist and co-author of Intuitive Eating. Lauren graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with her BA in Psychology before earning her MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and is a certified Intuitive Eating counsellor.
Website: Home – The Center for the Obsessive Mind

Dr. Adam C Frank is a psychiatrist, researcher, and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.  He attended UCLA for medical school and graduate school and holds a PhD in neuroscience.  He completed adult psychiatry residency at UCSF where he participated in additional training and research in neuromodulation treatments—such as TMS and DBS—for psychiatric indications like depression and OCD.  Dr. Frank currently divides his time between caring for individuals with OCD in an outpatient psychiatry clinic, supervising and teaching psychiatry residents at USC, and conducting research on the mechanisms of OCD and improving treatment outcomes through the use of neuroimaging, wearable biosensors, and neuromodulation. 
Website: Adam Frank – Keck School of Medicine of USC

In order to foster a safe community, we do not record the support group. This allows attendees the opportunity to share their experiences and ask questions in a safe space. We encourage you to attend or listen in to the support group live on Saturday. We look forward to seeing you this Saturday, December 13th from 11AM – 1 PM PST. To join us for our December support group, please email us at info@ocdsocal.org and just request the link!

Published November 16, 2025

The Online OCD Conference, A Global Event, Is Happening Now! Information on Sunday (November 16th), Day 2!

Register Now! https://ocdconference.eventbrite.com

Day 2 of our conference is HAPPENING LIVE RIGHT NOW!! Sunday, the second day of the Online OCD Conference— A Global Event, is going strong! 

20 sessions are being offered today, so make sure to join us! www.onlineocdconference.com is our conference platform and you will get emailed a log in instructions automatically! Haven’t registered yet, click on this: Take A Look at Our Conference Platform! to get a sneak peak of the conference platform site, and if you want to register, go to: https://ocdconference.eventbrite.com!

One of the sessions being offered on day 2 is our “Ask the Experts: Summary Q&A Panel!” It’s an opportunity to ask 7 experts any of your final OCD questions!

As a thank you to all who joined us, we are ending the wrap-up panel with an opportunity drawing and offering these prizes! If you are present in the Q&A panel, and fill out our anonymous Conference Evaluation, you are entered into the drawing and can win these gifts. OCD SoCal is offering the eGift Cards and a special thank you to CBT School – https://www.cbtschool.com and https://www.mhnti.com (led by Liz McIngvale, Ph.D., LCSW and Lauren Wadsworth, Ph.D., ABPP), for your gift donation!

We hope you join us for all of Day 2 of our online conference and see you at the Summary Q&A Panel!

Go to: https://ocdconference.eventbrite.com to register, go to www.ocdsocal.org/conference for more information on our event, email us at info@ocdsocal.org with any questions, and email scholarships@ocdsocal.org for free registration if needed!

Remember, if you register now, you will get access for 60 days to watch back all of our 53 presentations. They were all recorded and registering allows you to join us now for the live conference, as well as the 60 days of recordings!

Thank you for the support and we hope you enjoy all of the November 15 – 16 Online OCD Conference, A Global Event, hosted by OCD Southern California!

Published November 13, 2025

Still on the Fence About Attending the Upcoming Online OCD Conference? Here are Reasons You Should Join!

Click image to enlarge

https://ocdconference.eventbrite.com

If you are still trying to decide if the Online OCD Conference, A Global Event, is an event that is right for you, these above reasons may encourage you to attend!  

Whether you are a person with OCD, a family member or loved one of someone with the disorder, or a clinician treating OCD, there are so many important reasons to be there on November 15 & 16, 2025!

Education, information, community & hope for those impacted by OCD and related disorders will all be present at the November conference! 

Register today at https://ocdconference.eventbrite.com and we hope these reasons inspire you to sign up today!

Scholarships are still available—just email us at scholarships@ocdsocal.org. Info@ocdsocal.org for general questions and more conference information is on our website at https://ocdsocal.org/conference! See you this weekend on Saturday, November 15 and Sunday, November 16!

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