View OCD Washington’s 2017 annual report here – 2017 Annual Report

We are so excited to celebrate as Sam launches a new album – and you’re invited to the party! The whole family is welcome – so bring the kids, just send the kids alone, whatever works for you – but all are welcome! Refreshments will be served. Feel free to bring a friend!  Saturday, September 9^that 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30).  Blakely Hall in Issaquah Highlands.

Sam will perform some of the songs live and some we will be played in their produced entirety – and Sam will talk about his feelings and intent behind this very personal album. It is all about his struggle with severe OCD – and he will hopefully shed some light on this often debilitating mental illness.

The event is FREE, but RSVP is requested so that Highlands Council and Highlands Youth Advisory Board (who are amazingly sponsoring this event for Sam!) know how many people are coming. Click here to RSVP for your free tickets:  http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3066507

Sam Foster Music Event Poster

Sam Foster Bio

First, at 3:30pm, providers in the OCD and anxiety field will be gathering to share resources and connect. We look forward to the opportunity to meet, and to support each other as we grow our community of OCD professionals.

Immediately following, at 4:30, we  are honored to have the experienced improvisers of ComedySportz leading a free workshop focused on the benefits of Improv for Anxiety. This event is co-hosted by OCD Washington and CSz Seattle, the folks who perform ComedySportz, and will be held in the performance space at the Atlas Theater.

At this event, attendees are invited to play games with experienced improvisers who will illustrate how improv can be fun and how it can help individuals manage their anxiety better.  Individuals with OCD and related illnesses, their loved ones and professional members of our community are all welcome to the Improv for Anxiety event and its FREE!

Find out more here!

OCD Washington will be holding a 1 Million Steps 4 OCD Walk in Seattle on June 3rd, 2017 at Green Lake Park! Click here to learn more and register today!

Imagine spending over a decade, knowing something isn’t right. Maybe someone could help, but the feelings of shame are unbearable. The opinions of doctors and friends only add to your confusion and distress. Finally, someone mentions Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. But could that be? Your unwanted thoughts have never been about having things alphabetized and color coded. You’re not “sooo OCD!” Are you?

Now imagine you’re a clinician, and a client tells you their main anxiety is about murdering a loved one. Would this indicate a referral out for schizophrenia or psychosis?  If a client expresses concerns about their sexual orientation because they keep having thoughts about the “wrong” gender, we are likely to offer affirmative and supportive therapy while they explore their identity. Yet these worries could be OCD. The symptoms of OCD can be very different than the media’s images of checking or hand washing. These two OCD subtypes, harm/aggression and sexual, are the most frequently misdiagnosed.

When appropriate treatment is available, recovery from OCD is possible. Yet someone living with OCD may experience symptoms for more than 15 years before a diagnosis. For service providers, training and clinical support are a vital part of accurate diagnosis and treatment of OCD. Marriage and Family Therapists, and other systemically-trained clinicians, are uniquely situated as providers in the treatment of OCD, as it is a condition the family likely accommodated for years, and thus the family also plays a vital supportive role in recovery.

RESOURCES FOR PROFESSIONALS

The International OCD Foundation works to increase access to effective treatment, end the stigma associated with mental health issues, and foster a community for those affected by OCD and the professionals who treat them. Its Behavior Therapy Training Institute offers clinicians specialized training for focused on the diagnosis and treatment of OCD.

OCD Washington is a newly formed nonprofit in Seattle. It is a resource for those with OCD, their families, and clinicians. An affiliate of The International OCD Foundation, its mission is focused on helping sufferers of OCD get appropriate treatment, providing a community of support to sufferers and their families, as well as assuring clinicians and researchers receive the best information and training available.

OCD Awareness Week is October 9 through 15, 2016 and OCD Washington is hosting several events, including an art show and movie afternoon. You can find more information at www.ocdwashington.org

Kate Reeves, MA, LMFT, is a founding board member of OCD Washington. Her private practice in Bellevue specializes in the treatment of OCD, anxiety, and related disorders. She is also an adjunct faculty member of Antioch University Seattle, teaching graduate students how to utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and ACT in their clinical work.  For more information or to contact her, visit www.TherapyForGeeks.com.

Due to inclement weather OCD Washington is postponing our OCD in the Media gathering originally scheduled for October 15, 2016. from 1-3pm at Swedish Orthopedic center. We will be in touch when it is rescheduled. We apologize for any inconvenience.

OCD Washington is excited to announce that it will be holding two local awareness building events this International OCD Awareness Week! On Sunday, October 9th, from 2-4pm, we are having an Art Gallery showcasing art inspired by OCD. The following weekend, on Saturday, October 15th from 1-3pm, we will be hosting an event entitled OCD in the Media where we will be showing clips of shows and/or movies that portray OCD in the media and will be discussions this portrayal.

OCD Washington is proud to announce its incorporation this year! We are newly formed and planning several community activities. Events will include an improvisation workshop, a virtual camping outing (modeled after Dr. Jonathan Grayson’s yearly exposure workshop at the Annual OCD Conference) and panel presentations from clinicians in the area.

Our website is currently under construction, but please check back soon to view our calendar of events and connect with us!