WEBVTT
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Oh my gosh, we are so excited.
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Live again from the IOCDF conference in Seattle.
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And we are joined by the program director of the International OCD Foundation, Stephanie Cogan.
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Thank you so much for being here.
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Thanks for having me.
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I'm excited.
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Do you have any confessions?
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Maybe we should start with that.
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I don't think you have lived experience with OCD Foundation.
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I do not have lived experience.
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Do you have any confessions of you know the anxiety that popped up as you were getting ready for this conference?
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I know that you've helped kind of oversee this massive conference here.
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Anything that popped up for you?
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Well, I'm anxious right now.
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This is my first time doing a podcast or anything like this.
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So I'm sitting with those feelings and I am I'm gonna get through it and we are gonna get through it together.
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You guys are making me feel very comfortable.
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That comfort is making you stronger.
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Exactly, exactly, yes.
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I'm Alicia.
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And I'm Liam.
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We both have OCD, and instead of spiraling alone, we decided to turn our symptoms into a podcast.
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You're welcome.
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Here we overshare real stories, laugh through the anxiety, and talk to actual experts who can explain why your brain keeps asking, What if I accidentally marry my cousin?
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Whether your thing is hand washing, mental rituals, or just silently panicking during normal conversations, congrats.
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You have found your people.
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This is a safe place, unless you're an interest of thought.
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In which case, get in line, buddy.
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We're booked.
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So grab a weighted blanket, cancel your plans for the fifth time, and let's dive in.
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This is the OCD Confessional.
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And yes, we did check this recording four times before uploading it.
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So it's Alicia's and my first time here at the conference.
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Um and Alicia is only like a year and a half or so into knowing she has OCD, and now she's here at the conference.
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I I am, and it's a it's a it's an exposure in and of itself.
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It's a it's a um yeah, it is.
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It is an exposure within itself, but we won't go down that road.
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Tell me about this conference.
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You've now been here for you said how many, 13 years?
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Over 13 years.
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13 years.
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Yeah.
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So what should people know about what is this global conference?
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Mm-hmm.
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So the annual OCD conference, it's it's just such a unique experience.
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And I don't know if you folks have been to other professional conferences or just other conferences in general.
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Have you?
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But yeah, other than Leah's, I've been to some of the things.
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That's why you thought that we could just show up and not have anything in our group.
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That was the ADHD setting in.
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Okay.
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Is that for me?
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Sorry.
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Some people call that weaponized incompetent.
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That's that's me.
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I know that's her own anything.
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No, but what's so unique about this is even if you have been to other spaces, it's nothing like what we have going on here because we bring together the entire OCD community.
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So there's people with OCD and related disorders, there's friends, family supporters, um, and I should mention people with OCD of all ages, from you know, down to like three or four years old up to 100 plus.
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We have programming for everybody.
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And then we also bring our clinical folks in, our mental health therapists, our psychiatrists, our prescribers.
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The best in the best, yes.
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In addition to our researchers and then students and trainees of all various disciplines who are interested in working with or treating or uh researching OCD.
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So we bring all those people together, and that's so unique.
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There's I can't think of another conference that does it like we do.
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And you can really feel it in the atmosphere.
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It's just such a sense of community, and it's very electric and very motivating, very hopeful, and very welcoming and inclusive here.
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And that's I just love that about what we do, and it's just so reflective, I think, of who we are as an organization, even beyond this conference.
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It's kind of a little microcosm here.
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We we want to serve everybody, we want to bring everybody together, and this is you know kind of the big time of year where you can really visibly see that.
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It's a really great, kind of visible, you know, demonstration of what our mission is and how we seek to be as an organization.
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Yeah, I can confirm that that just in the few hours we've been here, so many people have come through and they're willing to share their stories.
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They seem so energized by what's happening here.
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For someone with OCD, why should they come to the conference?
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I feel like for a professional, someone who is giving the care, it makes sense to come and learn, you know, other interventions, what other people have learned.
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But for someone with OCD, what do they get out of this?
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Yeah, they get a lot out of it.
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And you know, you mentioned you're newer in your journey, and we have folks of all stages of their journey.
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Some people may have been diagnosed last week and you know, luckily enough, happened to find us and come here, and then some folks have may have been a more of a lifelong journey, maybe they've been coming for several years or living with OCD and managing it for several years.
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But obviously, there's the the key takeaways of you can learn some new strategies, some new ways of being in your treatment, you can get motivated.
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If you haven't started your treatment journey, you can get some really good insights about where to go and you know things to look for and things you should search out in your treatment journey.
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But even beyond that, I think for some people this may be the first time they ever meet another person with OCD.
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And it's just such this amazing sensation of oh my gosh, I'm not alone in this.
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Because OCD can be so isolating, right?
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It makes you, you know, it you're we're all trapped inside our heads and no one else knows what I'm going through.
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And then you come to a place like this and you see thousands of other people who know what it's like and know what you're going through.
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It really is special.
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I would say my first experience I was getting in my head and I started to question everything, and I was like, wait, everyone is.
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We're all in the same boat here.
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Exactly.
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Supportive and friendly, it's really been an incredible experience.
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If someone is wanting to come but they can't get on a flight, they don't want to face their fears.
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I almost didn't come because and I actually had a follower uh message me and say, I really want to be there, but I just can't.
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I can't do it.
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You know, it was too hard.
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Can they stream it online?
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They absolutely can.
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And we, you know, every year we started this a few years ago in 2024.
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That was the first year we did a virtual component, and this year we have, I think, five or five to eight things at any given time that folks can access.
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Some are hybrid, where there's gonna be folks here in Seattle sitting in the room, in addition to folks being online.
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And then we actually have a handful of virtual only sessions.
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So they're 100% live stream, they're a hundred no one in this room will be there will be no audience in person.
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It's all gonna be online.
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And that includes support groups, which is new this year.
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So we're really trying to create that space and that sense of community online as well as in person.
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And folks can do that honestly, up until even Sunday afternoon, they can still register.
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And even if they're not able to attend things live, they can watch them on demand after for 90 days.
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So that's very cool.
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Yeah, Alicia texted me, said I'm getting on my flight.
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It's tough for Alicia to get on flights.
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I've seen a full meltdown actually in South America one time with that.
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And I texted you.
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It's been nice knowing you.
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He thought it was being really funny with that one.
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It was actually pretty funny.
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What's actually funny is that he would have been here with no decor.
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I had it all on the plane.
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Oh no.
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If you had perished in a I don't think I would have been here at all.
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I would have been flying off to Spence and Parker and Smith and taking care of them.
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So what are you most excited about?
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I know you can't have favorites, you're the program director here, but what are you really excited to learn or learn more about at this conference?
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Mm-hmm.
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Every year we always change things up a little bit, but one of the constants for me that is always my I know it's hard, and the way you say with putting this conference together, I never want to pick a favorite because I feel like the whole thing is my baby.
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But I love the youth programming.
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I love seeing the little kids running around and just being themselves and making new friends and learning new things and just being so brave in so many ways.
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That is always the piece that I think will make me weep openly and you know just really touches the heart.
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Um Frankly, I am incredibly excited for your keynote, sir.
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So I cannot wait for tomorrow.
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No pressure, no pressure at all.
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It's very good.
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Yes.
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And then I always love, you know, we have a whole research track where folks are giving you the updates on the latest and greatest, you know, sometimes even things that haven't been published yet.
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So it's like we're getting a little sneak preview of some of the coolest new insights.
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So I always love, you know, I love all of it.
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As I say, it's all it's all my child, it's all my baby, and there's some things that I get extra excited for.
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Quick break.
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We'll be right back.
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But first, a word from our sponsor.
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The same distressing, unwanted thoughts keep playing over and over in your mind.
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The same rituals keep eating up your time, holding you back from enjoying your life.
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You've tried talk therapy before and spent session after session diving into those thoughts, trying to understand them, trying to fix them, but somehow they just get worse.
00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:11.519
And the chain piles on because you think, why isn't this working?
00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:12.560
What's wrong with me?
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If this sounds familiar, here's what you need to know.
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You're not the problem.
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You're experiencing something that a lot of people with OCD experience.
00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:22.879
Getting your life back is possible because OCD is highly treatable.
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It just requires a completely different approach than other mental health conditions.
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In fact, standard talk therapy often makes OCD worse because it encourages you to analyze those intrusive thoughts or try to replace them with positive ones.
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But with OCD, the more attention you give the thoughts, the stickier they become.
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That's where No C D comes in.
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Every single one of their therapists is extensively trained in a type of therapy called ERP, or exposure and response prevention, which is the most effective treatment available for OCD.
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And they get the training from world-renowned OCD experts so they truly understand what you're dealing with, even the stuff that feels impossible to say out loud.
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In live face-to-face virtual sessions, your No C D therapist will teach you how to take the power away from intrusive thoughts so you can live the life that you want to live.
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Visit nocd.com and book a free 15-minute call.
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That's no cd.com to learn more and talk to someone who can help because you deserve treatment that actually works for OCD.
00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:37.279
And you have a little bit of a specialty with pediatric OCD.
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You've really dove into that space.
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What are the newest things with that?
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You know, we've um we've uh talked with kids who have pandas, right?
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So they had strep and the next day they woke up with OCD.
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And then we have kids that have taken that more standard thing where it pops up for them someday with contamination OCD or some other theme, and then it takes its course.
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What is the newest kind of thing with childhood OCD?
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And are we, do you think, doing a better job at this point identifying and treating?
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Well, we actually, the IOCDF is about to publish a pediatric white paper.
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So some of you may have seen last year we had a general, so to speak, white paper that covered um, you know, the lifespan with a main focus on adults.
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So we're about to do kind of a partner release.
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Um stay tuned, watch the space, and maybe about a month or so that focuses specifically on pediatrics.
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And unfortunately, it tells us it, you know, what we like to think of it as giving us a baseline.
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So now that we know what the data is saying about how big the treatment gap is for pediatrics, now we have a place to go.
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Now we have a story to tell, now we have a narrative to spin to try to get more people on board and try to reduce that gap.
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Um, but anyway, so that's coming out soon, and then we are gonna use that to springboard so many, you know, advocacy activities to try to spread awareness and help reduce stigma.
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But a few things that have come up through that paper is some of the special stuff that in you know that you think about with kids that you don't necessarily think about with adults is the role of schools, for example.
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So, you know, at the IOCDF we have a great program called Anxiety in the Classroom that is all online, it's all free access, and it has just so many incredible tools, resources, and immediately applicable learnings for folks who work in schools.
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So we're doing a lot to kind of get on the ground and get that out into the schools and work with school professionals.
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Yeah.
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So it's it's a really great and robust program, and I think some of the stuff that came out of the white paper really underscores the need for it.
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Um, you know, to try to get to that earlier detection.
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So once we have the earlier detection and diagnosis, earlier connection to treatment, and we can, you know, start getting rid of those statistics that we hear so often about the huge time that folks have to lose to their OCD between their first onset of symptoms and when they can finally start finding some freedom and relief.
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It was like 30 years each for me.
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And imagine if you had a teacher or a pediatrician or just someone early on in your life who recognized it because they knew, because they finally were taught and finally knew what OCD actually is instead of just the stereotypes and the stigma that they are fed through the media and things like that.
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Yeah, it's just yeah, yeah.
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How bad is the picture?
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I know that you're gonna have a white paper, you don't necessarily want to give everything away.
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Yeah, give us a little teaser on how bad that situation is with kids.
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I mean, my understanding is it probably should be better than when Alicia and I were growing up.
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We've probably come aways, but it sounds like there is a lot of work to do.
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So give us a sense of that.
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Yeah, so um for folks who read maybe have read our original white paper, you know that it was about 97, 98% of folks were not getting the evidence-based care.
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So it is slightly better for kids.
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It's about 95% are not getting evidence-based care.
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So we still have a long way to go.
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And it is, you know, again, marginally better for than it is for the adults, which, you know, it's I guess a little, it's a little hopeful in some ways, but we have a very long way to go.
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And so, you know, we're gonna be hitting the ground really hard with getting the awareness out about this and you know, actionable strategies of what no matter who you are, how you can help and how you can start with this early intervention and getting the word out in your own community, starting small, talking to school districts, talking to your family's pediatrician.
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Like that makes such an impact.
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And it was huge.
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Yeah, I personally wrote a letter to the school and the principal explaining what it was.
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And they all had a meeting and sat down with my son, and I didn't know that.
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Oh, it changed everything.
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This was for ADHD.
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But I said, here's what it is.
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They didn't know, and they were punishing him.
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They were punishing him.
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I was like, he was getting in trouble.
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I said, but here's and they changed their approach, they changed how they they spoke to him, everything changed.
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And it was just about me, yeah, you know, telling these teachers.
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I would say take the gest out of that.
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There's no jest in that.
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That's wonderful.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Well, so anyway, it's much needed.
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Yeah, that's great.
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Are there um certain interventions for this issue that you are recommending?
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In addition to, you know, one person doing their part and calling up the school committee, are there other things we should be doing?
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Other in the healthcare space, for instance, doing better training, the therapists, or what are some of the other recommendations you would make on that?
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Absolutely.
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And so that and that's the other piece.
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And it's such a thing where we want to balance the message, where we we don't want to blame and shame people for not knowing what they don't know.
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And we want to teach them what they don't know.
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So it's all about having, you know, finessing it in such a way that folks realize, oh, okay, I actually don't know that.
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Let me learn, let me get ready.
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So, yes, there are absolutely going to be strategies for health systems and for training directors and for graduate programs as well.
00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:44.080
Because I know, you know, as you've heard and I know you may have seen and just experienced in your lives, we a lot of graduate mental health professionals don't really get specialized training in OCD.
00:14:44.240 --> 00:15:00.399
Maybe an hour, maybe if they're lucky enough to have an internship or work at a place that has one of our esteemed, you know, scientific and clinical advisory board members on the faculty, then they're luckier than most because the majority of folks coming, you know, I'm a social worker by training, and I didn't really get any education about OCD in my graduate education.
00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:02.240
So learn it all through working here.
00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:04.159
I was just gonna say, you probably learned it all from here.
00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:04.960
Yes, exactly.
00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:08.159
We need to be doing much more on that.
00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:13.279
Someone's listening, this is the first time that they've heard of IOCDF or the conference.
00:15:13.440 --> 00:15:15.440
What would you want them to know about the mission?
00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:17.200
Where should they go to learn more?
00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.559
I would want them to know that, you know, our mission, it's it's short and it's sweet.
00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:27.919
It's that we want to build a world when anybody affected where nobody affected by OCD suffers alone, and we want to provide help, healing, and hope to all.
00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:29.360
So I would want folks to know that.
00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:37.840
I would want folks to know that there is hope and that there is a place for them, and that there's this incredible community just waiting to wrap their arms around them and include them, including at this conference.
00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:46.559
And it only happens once a year, but um, we have so many other touch points and ways to get involved, both with us as you know headquarters as national, but with the local affiliates.
00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:49.600
We have them all over the country and you know over 30 states.
00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:51.440
We also have global partners all over the world.
00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:57.200
I know you guys have quite a reach, but just I would just encourage you, if you're ready, whenever you are ready, we will be here for you.
00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:01.279
So reach out, and whether that's just following on social media, making a comment.
00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:05.519
We have a great online community called Health Unlocked that's like a peer-to-peer messaging board.
00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:07.440
Maybe post a message on there, you know.
00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:10.559
So if you're not ready to come and join us in person, totally fine.
00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:17.440
We have whatever you might want at whatever level you're ready for, even just reading an article, reading a blog post, teaching yourself something new.
00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:18.799
That that all counts.
00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:25.200
It all is just a great step forward in building this world we all want to build where nobody affected by OCD suffers alone.
00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:25.759
I love that.
00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:32.399
And the IOCDF for me was huge when I first was diagnosed and needed to figure out what is this thing.
00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:34.399
I didn't know anything about it.
00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:36.960
I had a total misconception, as many people do, of what it is.
00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:48.399
And the IOCDF, the resources online, the ability to connect with a therapist who specializes in that and be able to trust that okay, there's an organization here that knows what this is, knows how to help me.
00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:49.039
That was huge.
00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:52.320
So shout out to the IOCDF for that and everything you've done since then.
00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:53.039
Help.
00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:55.440
Um next year is New York.
00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:55.919
Yes.
00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:57.279
Tell us a little bit about that.
00:16:57.519 --> 00:16:58.320
Yes, please come.
00:16:58.399 --> 00:16:59.360
We're gonna be in New York.
00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:04.160
So we like to um bop the conference all around the country to make it a little bit easier to get to for folks.
00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:07.440
So we're on the West Coast this year, so we're gonna go back to the East Coast next year.
00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:09.839
We'll be in New York City over the summer.
00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:11.279
I would encourage everybody to come.
00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:17.920
It's just there's nothing like this conference, and as we have mentioned, if you're not ready to join us in person, we will have the virtual component again.
00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:22.240
Um and then if you're interested in potentially speaking, we always do a proposal system.
00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:26.559
You don't have to have a million degrees or have been in the field for 20 years to propose.
00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:29.839
We take everyone as a speaker here, as you may have seen on the schedule.
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:31.680
We have kids as speakers, we have, you know.
00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:34.400
Exactly, yes, yes.
00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:36.000
And we want to encourage you to do that.
00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:43.200
And then if you don't want to speak, we have tons of volunteer opportunities, we offer scholarships, so there's just so many ways to engage with the conference.
00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:45.359
And yes, next year, New York City.
00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:46.160
It's gonna be great.
00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:47.759
Yeah.
00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:48.640
We'll see you there.
00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:50.480
I might set up like a confessional booth.
00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:54.480
This is Alicia's idea to create a little booth, people walk in and confess.
00:17:54.720 --> 00:18:00.160
One last question how loudly tomorrow are people gonna boo me after I give my speech.
00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:06.799
Well, I'm not making it there, so I think Liam thinks people are gonna boo him.
00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:09.839
But I think I if they have tomatoes, they'll throw them.
00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:13.759
I'm gonna I'm gonna choose a path and I'm gonna say maybe, maybe they will.
00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.599
We have no way of knowing.
00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:20.160
Um, but far more likely, I would say I have a feeling you are going to get a standing ovation.
00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:24.319
Oh man, if I can stand ov that I might actually cry if I get a standing ovation.
00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:28.400
For Leah, I'll come because my wife is gonna give the speech with me.
00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:30.480
I would cry for her because she's nervous.
00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:32.240
Yeah, that would be amazing.
00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:37.039
Well, thank you so much, Steph, for everything you've done and for inviting us in here to this booth.
00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:37.839
This is so fun.
00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:38.720
Such a cool experience.
00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:39.359
This is great.
00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:39.920
Yeah, thanks again.
00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:40.799
You killed it.
00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:43.920
Yeah, thank you for letting me sit with my fears and face them with you.
00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:51.759
Thanks for listening to another episode of the OCD Confessional.
00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:54.559
Be sure to follow the show so you get new episodes.
00:18:54.720 --> 00:19:00.720
You can subscribe to us on YouTube or find us on Instagram and TikTok at the OCD Confessional.
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.840
Oh my gosh, we are so excited.
00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:05.280
Live again from the IOCDF conference in Seattle.
00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:09.759
And we are joined by the program director of the International OCD Foundation, Stephanie Cogan.
00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:11.119
Thank you so much for being here.
00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:12.080
Thanks for having me.
00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:12.720
I'm excited.
00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:14.000
Do you have any confessions?
00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:15.199
Maybe we should start with that.
00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:16.879
I don't think you have lived experience with OCD Foundation.
00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:17.920
I do not have lived experience.
00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:22.719
Do you have any confessions of you know the anxiety that popped up as you were getting ready for this conference?
00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:25.519
I know that you've helped kind of oversee this massive conference here.
00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:27.039
Anything that popped up for you?
00:00:27.280 --> 00:00:28.239
Well, I'm anxious right now.
00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:30.879
This is my first time doing a podcast or anything like this.
00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:35.039
So I'm sitting with those feelings and I am I'm gonna get through it and we are gonna get through it together.
00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:36.240
You guys are making me feel very comfortable.
00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:38.079
That comfort is making you stronger.
00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:40.479
Exactly, exactly, yes.
00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:41.840
I'm Alicia.
00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:42.880
And I'm Liam.
00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:49.520
We both have OCD, and instead of spiraling alone, we decided to turn our symptoms into a podcast.
00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:50.320
You're welcome.
00:00:50.560 --> 00:01:00.320
Here we overshare real stories, laugh through the anxiety, and talk to actual experts who can explain why your brain keeps asking, What if I accidentally marry my cousin?
00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:07.359
Whether your thing is hand washing, mental rituals, or just silently panicking during normal conversations, congrats.
00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:08.640
You have found your people.
00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:11.680
This is a safe place, unless you're an interest of thought.
00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:13.920
In which case, get in line, buddy.
00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:14.799
We're booked.
00:01:14.959 --> 00:01:20.079
So grab a weighted blanket, cancel your plans for the fifth time, and let's dive in.
00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:22.560
This is the OCD Confessional.
00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:26.319
And yes, we did check this recording four times before uploading it.
00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:33.040
So it's Alicia's and my first time here at the conference.
00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:39.840
Um and Alicia is only like a year and a half or so into knowing she has OCD, and now she's here at the conference.
00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:44.480
I I am, and it's a it's a it's an exposure in and of itself.
00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:46.959
It's a it's a um yeah, it is.
00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:49.599
It is an exposure within itself, but we won't go down that road.
00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:51.840
Tell me about this conference.
00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:54.239
You've now been here for you said how many, 13 years?
00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:55.120
Over 13 years.
00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:56.079
13 years.
00:01:56.400 --> 00:01:56.560
Yeah.
00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:00.799
So what should people know about what is this global conference?
00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:01.359
Mm-hmm.
00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:04.879
So the annual OCD conference, it's it's just such a unique experience.
00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:08.879
And I don't know if you folks have been to other professional conferences or just other conferences in general.
00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:09.520
Have you?
00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:11.919
But yeah, other than Leah's, I've been to some of the things.
00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:15.039
That's why you thought that we could just show up and not have anything in our group.
00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:18.639
That was the ADHD setting in.
00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:19.360
Okay.
00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:20.240
Is that for me?
00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:20.560
Sorry.
00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:23.120
Some people call that weaponized incompetent.
00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:24.080
That's that's me.
00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:27.120
I know that's her own anything.
00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:35.599
No, but what's so unique about this is even if you have been to other spaces, it's nothing like what we have going on here because we bring together the entire OCD community.
00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:46.639
So there's people with OCD and related disorders, there's friends, family supporters, um, and I should mention people with OCD of all ages, from you know, down to like three or four years old up to 100 plus.
00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:48.639
We have programming for everybody.
00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:53.840
And then we also bring our clinical folks in, our mental health therapists, our psychiatrists, our prescribers.
00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:56.240
The best in the best, yes.
00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:04.560
In addition to our researchers and then students and trainees of all various disciplines who are interested in working with or treating or uh researching OCD.
00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:06.960
So we bring all those people together, and that's so unique.
00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:10.000
There's I can't think of another conference that does it like we do.
00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:12.479
And you can really feel it in the atmosphere.
00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:19.120
It's just such a sense of community, and it's very electric and very motivating, very hopeful, and very welcoming and inclusive here.
00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:26.319
And that's I just love that about what we do, and it's just so reflective, I think, of who we are as an organization, even beyond this conference.
00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:28.240
It's kind of a little microcosm here.
00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:35.039
We we want to serve everybody, we want to bring everybody together, and this is you know kind of the big time of year where you can really visibly see that.
00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:41.919
It's a really great, kind of visible, you know, demonstration of what our mission is and how we seek to be as an organization.
00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:48.400
Yeah, I can confirm that that just in the few hours we've been here, so many people have come through and they're willing to share their stories.
00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:50.639
They seem so energized by what's happening here.
00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:54.639
For someone with OCD, why should they come to the conference?
00:03:54.800 --> 00:04:02.639
I feel like for a professional, someone who is giving the care, it makes sense to come and learn, you know, other interventions, what other people have learned.
00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:04.879
But for someone with OCD, what do they get out of this?
00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:06.240
Yeah, they get a lot out of it.
00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:11.199
And you know, you mentioned you're newer in your journey, and we have folks of all stages of their journey.
00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:22.879
Some people may have been diagnosed last week and you know, luckily enough, happened to find us and come here, and then some folks have may have been a more of a lifelong journey, maybe they've been coming for several years or living with OCD and managing it for several years.
00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:30.319
But obviously, there's the the key takeaways of you can learn some new strategies, some new ways of being in your treatment, you can get motivated.
00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:38.240
If you haven't started your treatment journey, you can get some really good insights about where to go and you know things to look for and things you should search out in your treatment journey.
00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:43.120
But even beyond that, I think for some people this may be the first time they ever meet another person with OCD.
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:47.199
And it's just such this amazing sensation of oh my gosh, I'm not alone in this.
00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:49.360
Because OCD can be so isolating, right?
00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:54.240
It makes you, you know, it you're we're all trapped inside our heads and no one else knows what I'm going through.
00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:59.360
And then you come to a place like this and you see thousands of other people who know what it's like and know what you're going through.
00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:00.399
It really is special.
00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:06.000
I would say my first experience I was getting in my head and I started to question everything, and I was like, wait, everyone is.
00:05:07.199 --> 00:05:08.399
We're all in the same boat here.
00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:08.879
Exactly.
00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:12.560
Supportive and friendly, it's really been an incredible experience.
00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:17.759
If someone is wanting to come but they can't get on a flight, they don't want to face their fears.
00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:24.319
I almost didn't come because and I actually had a follower uh message me and say, I really want to be there, but I just can't.
00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:25.199
I can't do it.
00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:26.480
You know, it was too hard.
00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:28.480
Can they stream it online?
00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:29.759
They absolutely can.
00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:33.439
And we, you know, every year we started this a few years ago in 2024.
00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:41.519
That was the first year we did a virtual component, and this year we have, I think, five or five to eight things at any given time that folks can access.
00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:47.759
Some are hybrid, where there's gonna be folks here in Seattle sitting in the room, in addition to folks being online.
00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:50.399
And then we actually have a handful of virtual only sessions.
00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:55.839
So they're 100% live stream, they're a hundred no one in this room will be there will be no audience in person.
00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:56.959
It's all gonna be online.
00:05:57.279 --> 00:05:59.519
And that includes support groups, which is new this year.
00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:04.560
So we're really trying to create that space and that sense of community online as well as in person.
00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:08.399
And folks can do that honestly, up until even Sunday afternoon, they can still register.
00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:12.480
And even if they're not able to attend things live, they can watch them on demand after for 90 days.
00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:13.680
So that's very cool.
00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:16.319
Yeah, Alicia texted me, said I'm getting on my flight.
00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:17.920
It's tough for Alicia to get on flights.
00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:21.360
I've seen a full meltdown actually in South America one time with that.
00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:23.360
And I texted you.
00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:26.079
It's been nice knowing you.
00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:28.879
He thought it was being really funny with that one.
00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:29.920
It was actually pretty funny.
00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:33.600
What's actually funny is that he would have been here with no decor.
00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:35.360
I had it all on the plane.
00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:36.000
Oh no.
00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:40.480
If you had perished in a I don't think I would have been here at all.
00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:45.839
I would have been flying off to Spence and Parker and Smith and taking care of them.
00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:49.839
So what are you most excited about?
00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:57.519
I know you can't have favorites, you're the program director here, but what are you really excited to learn or learn more about at this conference?
00:06:57.759 --> 00:06:58.160
Mm-hmm.
00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:08.879
Every year we always change things up a little bit, but one of the constants for me that is always my I know it's hard, and the way you say with putting this conference together, I never want to pick a favorite because I feel like the whole thing is my baby.
00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:11.120
But I love the youth programming.
00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:19.199
I love seeing the little kids running around and just being themselves and making new friends and learning new things and just being so brave in so many ways.
00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:24.720
That is always the piece that I think will make me weep openly and you know just really touches the heart.
00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:27.920
Um Frankly, I am incredibly excited for your keynote, sir.
00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:29.759
So I cannot wait for tomorrow.
00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:31.439
No pressure, no pressure at all.
00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:32.800
It's very good.
00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:33.360
Yes.
00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:40.399
And then I always love, you know, we have a whole research track where folks are giving you the updates on the latest and greatest, you know, sometimes even things that haven't been published yet.
00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:43.920
So it's like we're getting a little sneak preview of some of the coolest new insights.
00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:45.759
So I always love, you know, I love all of it.
00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:50.480
As I say, it's all it's all my child, it's all my baby, and there's some things that I get extra excited for.
00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:51.360
Quick break.
00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:52.240
We'll be right back.
00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:54.000
But first, a word from our sponsor.
00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:57.519
The same distressing, unwanted thoughts keep playing over and over in your mind.
00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:00.879
The same rituals keep eating up your time, holding you back from enjoying your life.
00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:08.560
You've tried talk therapy before and spent session after session diving into those thoughts, trying to understand them, trying to fix them, but somehow they just get worse.
00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:11.519
And the chain piles on because you think, why isn't this working?
00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:12.560
What's wrong with me?
00:08:12.720 --> 00:08:15.040
If this sounds familiar, here's what you need to know.
00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:16.240
You're not the problem.
00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:19.600
You're experiencing something that a lot of people with OCD experience.
00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:22.879
Getting your life back is possible because OCD is highly treatable.
00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:26.399
It just requires a completely different approach than other mental health conditions.
00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:33.919
In fact, standard talk therapy often makes OCD worse because it encourages you to analyze those intrusive thoughts or try to replace them with positive ones.
00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:37.600
But with OCD, the more attention you give the thoughts, the stickier they become.
00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:39.120
That's where No C D comes in.
00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:43.039
No CD provides virtual therapy designed specifically for OCD.
00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:52.639
Every single one of their therapists is extensively trained in a type of therapy called ERP, or exposure and response prevention, which is the most effective treatment available for OCD.
00:08:52.799 --> 00:09:00.080
And they get the training from world-renowned OCD experts so they truly understand what you're dealing with, even the stuff that feels impossible to say out loud.
00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:08.559
In live face-to-face virtual sessions, your No C D therapist will teach you how to take the power away from intrusive thoughts so you can live the life that you want to live.
00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:17.039
In between sessions, you'll be able to message your therapist anytime, join dozens of life support groups, and continue your progress with other expert developed therapy tools.
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And you have a little bit of a specialty with pediatric OCD.
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You've really dove into that space.
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What are the newest things with that?
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You know, we've um we've uh talked with kids who have pandas, right?
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So they had strep and the next day they woke up with OCD.
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And then we have kids that have taken that more standard thing where it pops up for them someday with contamination OCD or some other theme, and then it takes its course.
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What is the newest kind of thing with childhood OCD?
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And are we, do you think, doing a better job at this point identifying and treating?
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Well, we actually, the IOCDF is about to publish a pediatric white paper.
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So some of you may have seen last year we had a general, so to speak, white paper that covered um, you know, the lifespan with a main focus on adults.
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So we're about to do kind of a partner release.
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Um stay tuned, watch the space, and maybe about a month or so that focuses specifically on pediatrics.
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And unfortunately, it tells us it, you know, what we like to think of it as giving us a baseline.
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So now that we know what the data is saying about how big the treatment gap is for pediatrics, now we have a place to go.
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Now we have a story to tell, now we have a narrative to spin to try to get more people on board and try to reduce that gap.
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Um, but anyway, so that's coming out soon, and then we are gonna use that to springboard so many, you know, advocacy activities to try to spread awareness and help reduce stigma.
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But a few things that have come up through that paper is some of the special stuff that in you know that you think about with kids that you don't necessarily think about with adults is the role of schools, for example.
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So, you know, at the IOCDF we have a great program called Anxiety in the Classroom that is all online, it's all free access, and it has just so many incredible tools, resources, and immediately applicable learnings for folks who work in schools.
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So we're doing a lot to kind of get on the ground and get that out into the schools and work with school professionals.
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Yeah.
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So it's it's a really great and robust program, and I think some of the stuff that came out of the white paper really underscores the need for it.
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Um, you know, to try to get to that earlier detection.
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So once we have the earlier detection and diagnosis, earlier connection to treatment, and we can, you know, start getting rid of those statistics that we hear so often about the huge time that folks have to lose to their OCD between their first onset of symptoms and when they can finally start finding some freedom and relief.
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It was like 30 years each for me.
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And imagine if you had a teacher or a pediatrician or just someone early on in your life who recognized it because they knew, because they finally were taught and finally knew what OCD actually is instead of just the stereotypes and the stigma that they are fed through the media and things like that.
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Yeah, it's just yeah, yeah.
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How bad is the picture?
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I know that you're gonna have a white paper, you don't necessarily want to give everything away.
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Yeah, give us a little teaser on how bad that situation is with kids.
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I mean, my understanding is it probably should be better than when Alicia and I were growing up.
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We've probably come aways, but it sounds like there is a lot of work to do.
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So give us a sense of that.
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Yeah, so um for folks who read maybe have read our original white paper, you know that it was about 97, 98% of folks were not getting the evidence-based care.
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So it is slightly better for kids.
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It's about 95% are not getting evidence-based care.
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So we still have a long way to go.
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And it is, you know, again, marginally better for than it is for the adults, which, you know, it's I guess a little, it's a little hopeful in some ways, but we have a very long way to go.
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And so, you know, we're gonna be hitting the ground really hard with getting the awareness out about this and you know, actionable strategies of what no matter who you are, how you can help and how you can start with this early intervention and getting the word out in your own community, starting small, talking to school districts, talking to your family's pediatrician.
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Like that makes such an impact.
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And it was huge.
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Yeah, I personally wrote a letter to the school and the principal explaining what it was.
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And they all had a meeting and sat down with my son, and I didn't know that.
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Oh, it changed everything.
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This was for ADHD.
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But I said, here's what it is.
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They didn't know, and they were punishing him.
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They were punishing him.
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I was like, he was getting in trouble.
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I said, but here's and they changed their approach, they changed how they they spoke to him, everything changed.
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And it was just about me, yeah, you know, telling these teachers.
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I would say take the gest out of that.
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There's no jest in that.
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That's wonderful.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Well, so anyway, it's much needed.
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Yeah, that's great.
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Are there um certain interventions for this issue that you are recommending?
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In addition to, you know, one person doing their part and calling up the school committee, are there other things we should be doing?
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Other in the healthcare space, for instance, doing better training, the therapists, or what are some of the other recommendations you would make on that?
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Absolutely.
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And so that and that's the other piece.
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And it's such a thing where we want to balance the message, where we we don't want to blame and shame people for not knowing what they don't know.
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And we want to teach them what they don't know.
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So it's all about having, you know, finessing it in such a way that folks realize, oh, okay, I actually don't know that.
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Let me learn, let me get ready.
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So, yes, there are absolutely going to be strategies for health systems and for training directors and for graduate programs as well.
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Because I know, you know, as you've heard and I know you may have seen and just experienced in your lives, we a lot of graduate mental health professionals don't really get specialized training in OCD.
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Maybe an hour, maybe if they're lucky enough to have an internship or work at a place that has one of our esteemed, you know, scientific and clinical advisory board members on the faculty, then they're luckier than most because the majority of folks coming, you know, I'm a social worker by training, and I didn't really get any education about OCD in my graduate education.
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So learn it all through working here.
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I was just gonna say, you probably learned it all from here.
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Yes, exactly.
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We need to be doing much more on that.
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Someone's listening, this is the first time that they've heard of IOCDF or the conference.
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What would you want them to know about the mission?
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Where should they go to learn more?
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I would want them to know that, you know, our mission, it's it's short and it's sweet.
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It's that we want to build a world when anybody affected where nobody affected by OCD suffers alone, and we want to provide help, healing, and hope to all.
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So I would want folks to know that.
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I would want folks to know that there is hope and that there is a place for them, and that there's this incredible community just waiting to wrap their arms around them and include them, including at this conference.
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And it only happens once a year, but um, we have so many other touch points and ways to get involved, both with us as you know headquarters as national, but with the local affiliates.
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We have them all over the country and you know over 30 states.
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We also have global partners all over the world.
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I know you guys have quite a reach, but just I would just encourage you, if you're ready, whenever you are ready, we will be here for you.
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So reach out, and whether that's just following on social media, making a comment.
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We have a great online community called Health Unlocked that's like a peer-to-peer messaging board.
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Maybe post a message on there, you know.
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So if you're not ready to come and join us in person, totally fine.
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We have whatever you might want at whatever level you're ready for, even just reading an article, reading a blog post, teaching yourself something new.
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That that all counts.
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It all is just a great step forward in building this world we all want to build where nobody affected by OCD suffers alone.
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I love that.
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And the IOCDF for me was huge when I first was diagnosed and needed to figure out what is this thing.
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I didn't know anything about it.
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I had a total misconception, as many people do, of what it is.
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And the IOCDF, the resources online, the ability to connect with a therapist who specializes in that and be able to trust that okay, there's an organization here that knows what this is, knows how to help me.
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That was huge.
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So shout out to the IOCDF for that and everything you've done since then.
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Help.
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Um next year is New York.
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Yes.
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Tell us a little bit about that.
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Yes, please come.
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We're gonna be in New York.
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So we like to um bop the conference all around the country to make it a little bit easier to get to for folks.
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So we're on the West Coast this year, so we're gonna go back to the East Coast next year.
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We'll be in New York City over the summer.
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I would encourage everybody to come.
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It's just there's nothing like this conference, and as we have mentioned, if you're not ready to join us in person, we will have the virtual component again.
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Um and then if you're interested in potentially speaking, we always do a proposal system.
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You don't have to have a million degrees or have been in the field for 20 years to propose.
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We take everyone as a speaker here, as you may have seen on the schedule.
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We have kids as speakers, we have, you know.
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Exactly, yes, yes.
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And we want to encourage you to do that.
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And then if you don't want to speak, we have tons of volunteer opportunities, we offer scholarships, so there's just so many ways to engage with the conference.
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And yes, next year, New York City.
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It's gonna be great.
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Yeah.
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We'll see you there.
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I might set up like a confessional booth.
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This is Alicia's idea to create a little booth, people walk in and confess.
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One last question how loudly tomorrow are people gonna boo me after I give my speech.
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Well, I'm not making it there, so I think Liam thinks people are gonna boo him.
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But I think I if they have tomatoes, they'll throw them.
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I'm gonna I'm gonna choose a path and I'm gonna say maybe, maybe they will.
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We have no way of knowing.
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Um, but far more likely, I would say I have a feeling you are going to get a standing ovation.
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Oh man, if I can stand ov that I might actually cry if I get a standing ovation.
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For Leah, I'll come because my wife is gonna give the speech with me.
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I would cry for her because she's nervous.
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Yeah, that would be amazing.
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Well, thank you so much, Steph, for everything you've done and for inviting us in here to this booth.
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This is so fun.
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Such a cool experience.
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This is great.
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Yeah, thanks again.
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You killed it.
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Yeah, thank you for letting me sit with my fears and face them with you.
00:18:48.640 --> 00:18:51.759
Thanks for listening to another episode of the OCD Confessional.
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Be sure to follow the show so you get new episodes.
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