It’s the Tuesday of OCD Conference week, and I’m excited to be hosting someone you’ll have a chance to meet, learn from, and be inspired by this weekend. Sean has taken huge leaps in his recovery in the past few years, moving out of his dad’s house to residential treatment in Boston to living on his…
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Self-Harm and OCD: Tim Blue
Tim Blue and I met the way I’ve met so many of my incredible “OCD friends”—at the national conference the International OCD Foundation puts on every summer. (Seriously, you should go!) He’s such a nice guy, and we have a lot in common, which is always refreshing. In fact, that’s kind of the idea behind…
Read MoreAn OCD Treatment Pioneer: Michael Jenike
In 2014 I attended my first OCD Conference, and I kept hearing snippets of conversation about this man, Dr. Michael Jenike. It was “Jenike this” and “Jenike that.” I finally asked my hotel roommate who Jenike was. “You haven’t met Jenike?!” In 2013 Dr. Jenike had granted me permission to use his very helpful checklist for finding an…
Read MoreOCD Support in a Small Town: Kevin Putman
Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday! Welcome Kevin Putman, one of last year’s recipients of the IOCDF Hero Award—and with good reason. He’s done a tremendous amount of awareness building in his small community in Michigan and has shared his unique idea for OCD advocacy with the larger community as well: Ping Pong 4 OCD. Maybe you’ve played ping…
Read MoreLeading the International OCD Foundation: Jeff Szymanski
I know what you’re thinking: How do you pronounce that name? As far as I can tell, it’s something like Shhhhhmanski. But here’s the thing: You can probably* just call him Jeff! He certainly deserves the respect and honor of being called Dr. Szymanski, but he’s friendly and open enough that you’ll find yourself on a first-name basis. *For…
Read MoreOCD, Kids, and Medication: Gail Bernstein
It’s Tuesday already! Welcome back. This week I’m hosting Dr. Gail Bernstein, who specializes in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Parents, this Q&A is for you—especially so if you live in the Twin Cities. Your children are not alone, and there is hope for them! Dr. Bernstein is brilliant and…
Read MoreLosing a Child With BDD: Denis Asselin
Welcome back to Tuesday Q&A! I admit the hiatus wasn’t exactly planned; life and the holidays conspired to throw me off schedule. I couldn’t be happier to kick off the New Year with this post from Denis Asselin, an amazing advocate who’s been working tirelessly and with compassion to spread awareness about body dysmorphic disorder…
Read MoreSupport for Teens: Wendy Mueller
I don’t know what’s harder to believe, that it’s Tuesday already or that it’s December already. Here in Minnesota we’re finally getting our first inches of snow. Today’s guest, Wendy Mueller, is always eager to remind me that where she lives—Southern California—she never has to deal with snow or cold temperatures. But Wendy’s full of…
Read MoreTreating Hoarding: Renae Reinardy
As some of you may know, I’m president of my local chapter of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), OCD Twin Cities. But I didn’t found the affiliate—today’s guest Renae Reinardy did. She and her co-founder Randy Herrera did all the hard work to get the nonprofit up and running, and I took over two years…
Read MoreOCD and Addiction: Margaret Sisson
Many of us in the OCD advocacy community got into it because we have OCD ourselves. Margaret Sisson became an advocate because her son Riley had OCD. She has done so much to spread awareness, not just about OCD but addiction as well. Even after Riley’s tragic death in 2014 Margaret has continued to go above…
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Alison Dotson 