FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Stephanie Chelf
617-269-7171 stephanie@teakmedia.com
Doctors, Researchers and Patients unlock Mysteries of OCD
at National Conference
WASHINGTON D.C. – The nation’s top experts on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will bring therapy, support and research news directly to OCD sufferers and their families at the 17th annual International OCD Foundation national conference in Arlington, Virginia from July 16 to 18, 2010.
The conference, which will be attended by up to 1,400 people from across the US, is the largest national gathering focused solely on OCD and OCD spectrum disorders. The three-day event is unique because it brings together the entire OCD community: patients, families and caregivers, and professionals, therapists, researchers and graduate students.
Patients get on-site treatment and one-on-one time with leading experts. Children with OCD meet their peers and enjoy fun activities that double as therapy, including art projects and an OCD fashion show. Family members learn from others how to best support the OCD patient in their lives. Professionals receive training and learn about the latest in OCD research.
OCD is a debilitating brain and behavioral disorder that causes problems day to day functioning and information processing. With OCD, the brain often gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and just can't let go. OCD involves having both obsessions and compulsions. It affects up to 4 million people in the US and has no cure. However, OCD can be managed through therapy and medication.
“There is so much we need to learn about OCD,” said Dr. Jeff Szymanski, executive director of the International OCD Foundation. “When we gather every year, we enable people to get treatment, hear about the latest in medication and research, and find support. The conference provides an opportunity for sufferers to be open about having OCD and meet others like themselves. This, in itself, is a huge and unique benefit. Many who suffer from OCD suffer alone.”
Among the conference highlights:
OCD expert Dr. Jonathan Grayson takes OCD sufferers Virtual Camping. This experiential workshop has helped hundreds of people learn to address their OCD fears as a group. Grayson leads OCD patients on a voyage to confront their fears. They touch toilet seats and then use their unwashed hands to put a candy into their mouths. They reach into a dumpster and then lick their fingers to address their fear of contamination head on. It’s hands-on and exposes people to their highest levels of anxiety in a supportive, but challenging way.
A full roster of programs for teens that will provide therapeutic opportunities as well as a chance for them to meet new friends. A teen success panel will feature teens that have learned to overcome their OCD rituals. Other programs include: teaching teens how to excel in school, a scavenger hunt that combines exposure therapy, and an OCD fashion show where teens wear mismatched, inside-out clothing.
Retired Lt. Col. Shannon Shy will give a keynote speech entitled, “My War with OCD: A Story of OCD in the Military” about his struggle to hide his OCD from his fellow marines. OCD rituals consumed his life to the point where he didn’t want to leave his home. Shy sought treatment and wrote a memoir, “It'll be Okay: How I Kept Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder from Ruining My Life” (2009), about his experiences.
In addition, the latest research on drug treatments for OCD and an update of the first ever genome study in the genetic link among OCD sufferers will be presented by the country’s leading experts. An OCD film festival will kick off the three-day conference.
To register for the International OCD Foundation visit www.ocfoundation.org or call 617-973-5801.
About the International OCD Foundation
The International OCD Foundation is the foremost resource about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related illnesses. It is an international organization that exists to raise awareness among policy makers and the general public about OCD, educate the mental health community about the latest treatments and research, connect people suffering from OCD with treatment providers, and advance research for more effective treatments. Based in Boston, the OCDF has affiliates in Boston, Chicago, Florida, Minneapolis, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and San Francisco. The OCDF was founded as the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation in 1986 by a dozen OCD patients at Yale. Twenty-three years later, the organization has an annual $1 million annual operating budget, has granted $2.5 million for treatment research, and is a resource for tens of thousands of people. For more information, visit www.ocfoundation.org.