The Houston OCD Program was delighted to attend the annual convention of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America in beautiful (and chilly!) Chicago this year. As this year is our tenth anniversary, it was also our tenth appearance at the ADAA conference! We all enjoyed sharing updates with old colleagues, collaborators, and community partners as well as catching up … Read More
The Houston OCD Program Blog
A Bergen 4-Day Treatment Success Story: Gunnar Rolland
Gunnar Rolland remembers the exact age, he was 13 years old, when his OCD symptoms first appeared. He tried numerous treatment approaches and finally, 59 years later, at age 72 everything changed! “I had tried so many different therapies, and I had tried over and over to do exposure myself. The result was most often discomfort without change, and I had … Read More
Houston OCD Team Presents at Anxiety and Depression Association of America Conference
In April of 2018 Houston OCD Program psychologists Jen Sy, Ph.D., Angela Smith, Ph.D., and Chad Brandt, Ph.D., accompanied by summer residential counselor intern Keith Klein, M.A., presented on OCD treatment at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America annual conference in Washington D.C. Their talk, entitled “Challenges in Treating OCD with Co-Occuring ADHD” was attended by other mental health … Read More
An Open Letter About OCD
There are a lot of misconceptions about OCD accompanied by many instances of misuses of the term in the media which can lead to invalidating and diminishing the experiences of those who actually suffer from the clinical disorder. Prompted by Khloe Kardashian’s recent ‘Klo-C-D’ campaign, a brave OCD-sufferer shares her personal and candid account of her own experiences of the … Read More
Houston OCD Program completes the first week-long spring break intensive program!
By: Lauren Esworthy, MA, LPC This year, the Houston OCD Program launched its first Brief Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program (AIOP) over the week of Spring Break. The Brief AIOP offers the opportunity for teenaged clients to participate in intensive therapy without getting behind on schoolwork. All participants attended the Program from 10am-12:30pm the week of spring break. Each day, the … Read More
OCD and Social Anxiety
By: Jennifer Sy, Ph.D. Meeting new people, whether for friendship or dating, is often very intimidating. It can be especially intimidating when you have symptoms of OCD, and is often one of the areas people “get” to work on once OCD symptoms have improved. Here are some reasons that people with OCD often also experience anxiety about making new friends … Read More
2018 BTTI Training in Houston
Specialty OCD Training in Houston! The Behavior Therapy Training Institute (BTTI) was recently sponsored by the Houston OCD Program in January 2018. It is an intensive 3-day training that 28 clinicians from around the United States attended to learn a specialized evidence-based treatment intervention for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This treatment, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), is truly the gold … Read More
Effective Goal Setting for 2018
By Ally Frankovich The new year is here! This is the time of the year when many people reflect on the past year and feel energized and motivated to make great plans for the year ahead. However, commonly many new year goals are abandoned and forgotten by the end of January. There are various reasons why we fail to accomplish … Read More
Holiday Anxiety and Perfectionism
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
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