By Melissa Fasteau, Psy.D It’s that time of year again where instagram and facebook have posting after posting with smiling faces, decorated Christmas trees, and beautifully arranged candlesticks in de-waxed chanukiot. All of these photos display family and friends’ enjoyment and glee around the holidays, but something inside mismatches the holiday cheer expressed in those photos. Uh-oh, all of the … Read More
The Houston OCD Program Blog
Holidays and Sleep
By Simon Lao, B.S., Happy holidays from your friends at the Houston OCD Program! The holiday season can be a wonderful time of the year. Kids are excited to have a break from school and many families are preparing to travel, attend or host family gatherings, explore evening activities (e.g., Zoo lights, New Year’s celebration) and countless other holiday traditions. … Read More
How Children React to Stressful Events
Children’s Reaction to Stressful Events Posted by Chad Brandt, Ph.D At any age children are susceptible to psychological effects of natural disasters or other traumatic events. Local tragedies such as Hurricane Harvey and national tragedies such as the Las Vegas shootings have a psychological impact on adults, but at almost any age children are able to understand stressful events and … Read More
Selective Mutism
by Ivy Ruths, Ph.D By 12 to 13 months, most infants will have already uttered their first words and by five years of age, children can understand more than 2,000 words. This is the average developmental trajectory for language development; however, in very rare cases a child that has established these milestones and can communicate perfectly well through spoken language, … Read More
1 Million Steps 4 OCD Walk
Thank you to everyone who joined the 1 Million Steps 4 OCD Walk! Many cities from coast to coast participated in this walk, including Houston, Austin, Sacramento, and Boston! This walk raises awareness and funding to benefit the International OCD Foundation. This walk commemorates Denis Asselin’s journey from Cheyney, PA to Boston, MA. Denis walked over 500 miles, about one … Read More
Therapy Saved My Life: Part II
Through unrelenting hard work, a former client continues her journey to overcome specific phobia and OCD through ERP. Enter my mid-twenties. Diagnosed with Rapid Cycling Bi-Polar Disorder, Generalized Anxiety, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I didn’t want to leave the house, I was terrified of everything. My moods were all over the place, extreme highs, extreme lows. I started noticing … Read More
Therapy Saved My Life: Part I
A former client shares her intimate journey overcoming specific phobia and OCD. Through a two-part blog series, she shares her challenges, hard work, and how she ultimately overcame her anxiety. Many patients feel that therapy saved their life. In some cases, that’s true, in a way. Now they have a better life, a happier life, … Read More
Anxiety and Depression Association of America Conference
We are pleased to announce that the Houston OCD Program will attend the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) conference this year. Our Behavior Therapist Dr. Ivy Ipkeme Ruths, PhD, will host a workshop Saturday, April 8 at 4:30 PM, titled, “Distinguishing between OCD, OCPD, and ASD: An Interactive, Skills Acquisition Workshop,” which will focus on differential diagnosis between … Read More
A New Year, A Fresh Perspective
By Melissa Fasteau, PsyD I am so excited to have recently joined the Houston OCD Program as the postdoctoral fellow. A postdoctoral position typically offers a unique opportunity to specialize in a subsection of clinical psychology. Treating OCD and anxiety has been a passion of mine since my practicum and internship sites, so I am thrilled to have specialized training … Read More
Year 2: Reflections From a Former Patient
Year 2 WOW I just remembered today that it has been two years since I left for Houston, TX and went to treatment at the Houston OCD Program! I can’t believe it… feels like yesterday! I think of those first few weeks so vividly I was petrified! I thought I was “crazy” and was never going to get better. I … Read More