Welcome

We are a professionally assisted OCD support group organized and moderated by two prominent mental health professionals.  We meet once a month at First Church Congregational, United Church of Christ in Fairfield, CT.

Our mission is to provide an informative group forum which can provide a supportive, informal, empathetic environment for people coping with OCD.

Our group consists of individuals who are OCD sufferers.  Usually, these individuals have recovered from their OCD and are presently managing their symptoms.  In addition, family members and friends of those who are suffering from OCD are also welcome to participate.  In our meetings, we discuss specific topics, such as medication, symptoms, cognitive behavior therapy, etc.  The goal of our support group is informational, not therapeutic.

On occasion, guest speakers including mental health professionals are invited to speak on a specific topic of interest to the group.
Click here to read about how our group became a success story.

We welcome you to join us!

Our Winter & Spring 2013 Meeting Schedule is Announced!    We have announced our meeting schedule for January to June 2013. We look forward to seeing you at our meetings! New participants are always welcome! Go to our Meeting Schedule for dates & times.

Take Action in the Wake of Newtown School Shooting   After the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and other members of the mental health community met at the White House as part of Vice President Joseph Biden’s task force to examine what can be done to prevent such mass shootings in the future. Headlines surrounding the task force’s work have focused on gun control and violent video games, but the meeting focused strongly on the urgent need to strengthen and expand mental health services. In the coming weeks, the President and Congress should step forward and make a clear commitment to mental health care. Do your part. Contact your federal elected officials and urge them to speak out for mental health care by clicking here. Thank you for making a difference! Ask your friends and family members to take action, too. Forward this email to five people, tweet your support or share the following message on Facebook. “I asked my legislators to strengthen mental health care in the wake of Newtown. Go to www.capwiz.com/nami to make your voice heard too!”

NAMIWalks   Every journey begins with that first step. In 2013, tens of thousands of concerned citizens in more than 84 communities across the nation will join NAMI and walk together to raise money and awareness about our country's need for a world-class treatment and recovery system for people with mental illness. For more information, click here. This year's Connecticut walk will be held on May 18, 2013 at Bushnell Park in Hartford. For more information about the CT walk, click here.

IOCDF Uses Social Media!   Take advantage of IOCDF's social media tools to stay more in touch with the foundation's resources and information. To follow IOCDF on Facebook, go to Facebook.com/IOCDF. To follow IOCDF on Twitter, go to Twitter.com/IOCDF.

#OCDchat on Twitter!   Due to the success of IOCDF's series of "Ask the Experts" Twitter chats during OCD Awareness Week, they've decided to make this a regular event. Join IOCDF on the 3rd Monday of each month at 8pm ET, while they answer your questions about OCD treatments, resources, and any other questions you may have about OCD. They will also occasionally host guest experts to talk about special topics. It's free to participate... all you need is a Twitter account. Find them with the hashtag #OCDchat. To learn how to participate in a Twitter chat using #OCDchat, click here.

Adversity 2 Advocacy Alliance & IOCDF release the "We Believe Video"   IOCDF (International OCD Foundation) Spokesperson and Adversity 2 Advocacy founder, Jeff Bell, produced this amazing new video — with help from many of you — to share a message of hope for people with OCD. What better way than to leave your own message of hope for the OCD community? To access the video, click here.

Reactions to Hoarding Research Study   Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada is currently working on a research project that investigates loved ones' reactions to hoarding-related behaviors (difficulty discarding, acquiring clutter). Specifically, it is interested in understanding the ways in which loved ones may modify their behaviors or routines, as a result of an individual's hoarding-related behaviors. Currently, the study includes an individual with a hoarding problem and his/her loved one (i.e., family member or intimate partner). If eligible, each individual will be asked to complete a one telephone interview (which takes about 1.5 hours) and an online questionnaire package (which takes about 1 hour). Thus, participants do not need to come into the lab to complete the study. If you would like more information about the study, please feel free to visit its website: http://www.hoardingstudy.ca/Reactions_to_Hoarding_Research_Study/Study_Information.html .

OCD Challenge Website OCD Challenge is an online, interactive, behavioral program designed to help people suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The program was built by psychologists who are leaders in the field of behavior therapy and have a specialization in the area of OCD. OCD Challenge has three Modules: Assessment, Gaining Awareness and Intervention. Users will be guided through the Modules and taught skills and strategies for managing their OCD behavior. OCD Challenge uses the principles of exposure and response prevention (the treatment of choice for OCD) to help the user to confront and challenge their OCD. OCD Challenge is not therapy and there is not a therapist on the other end of the computer telling you what to do. Instead, OCD Challenge is a program built to interact with the user in a way that is interesting, useful, and moves the user toward change. OCD Challenge is offering 6 months free use of its website with the promo code "POMA" to anyone who is interested. You can access the website at ocdchallenge.com. For a virtual tour of the website go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzR88HLawAg.

The International OCD Foundation launches an "OCD in Kids" website The IOCDF is proud to announce its new website regarding OCD in kids and teens. The foundation's goals in building this website are to educate the general public about OCD, facilitate education and training of mental health professionals, pediatricians, and school personnel, support research into the causes of and effective treatments for pediatric OCD, and improve access to resources for those with OCD and their families, as well as clinicians and school personnel. To access this website, go to ocfoundation.org/ocdinkids/.

iCounselor OCD App: Your portable self help tool for your iPhone. The iCounselor OCD iPhone app teaches you skills to resist obsessions and compulsions! All material was written by a licensed psychotherapist (LCSW) with twenty-five years of counseling experience. This app is compatible with the iPhone or iPod Touch. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later. For more information and to download the app, go to http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/icounselor-ocd/id338431800?mt=8.

OCD In The News The International OCD Foundation has been working hard to raise public awareness about OCD. As part of this mission, it has created a web page containing many news stories regarding the subject of OCD. To visit this page, go to ocfoundation.org/News.aspx.

Fairfield County OCD Support Group Kick Off for 2011 Our group's co-moderator, Christina J. Taylor, Ph.D., posted an article in her blog highlighting her insights about our fantastic first group meeting of 2011! Dr. Taylor's blog is located at cjtaylorphd.wordpress.com.

Hoarding is not just on TV, it's a real disease in our communities Currently considered a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, hoarding directly affects about 2 million people nationally. The illness doesn't just involve the hoarder, but friends, family and, sometimes, the entire community. Click here to read the article on ctpost.com.

The Yale OCD Research Clinic Offers Cutting-Edge Advances in Understanding & Treating OCD The Yale OCD Research Clinic has a 25-year history of groundbreaking advances in the understanding and treatment of OCD. The clinic's current research is focused on a new hypothesis of OCD: that its symptoms may result from an imbalance in the brain of the neurotransmitter glutamate. Medications that modulate glutamate levels may help those patients who get little or no benefit from established therapies. Recent studies suggest that glutamate-modulating drugs hold promise for some patients with difficult-to-treat OCD. If you are interested in learning more about the clinic and its research, please contact them at 203-974-7523 or visit www.med.yale.edu/psych/clinics/OCD Research Clinic/OCDindex.htm.

Visit OCDSymptoms, a wonderful OCD website from the UK OCDSymptoms is an enlightening website from the United Kingdom specifically created to offer a unique reference point on extensive advice about OCD causes and treatments. It is continually updated with new content. Check out the following three new articles they added to their site in September: Self-help for OCD, Treating OCD with Herbal Remedies, & Types of OCD.

Center For Anxiety Disorders and Phobias Launches New Website The Center For Anxiety Disorders and Phobias has launched an impressive & informative new website. With offices in Hamden & Fairfield, CT, the center provides a wide range of highly effective treatments, consultative services, education and training of patients, their families, other professionals, and the community. Its professional staff provides comprehensive, scientifically based treatments for anxiety disorders such as OCD, panic disorder & phobias. For more information, visit www.anxietyrx.net.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Collaborative Genetics Association Research Study A team of scientists and clinicians at Massachusetts General Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, are conducting a study with teams at five other university medical centers and the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate genes responsible for the development of OCD. They hope that by knowing these genes it may lead to improved understanding and treatment of the disorder. The study team is looking for individuals age 8 years and older with a diagnosis of OCD (where symptoms started before 18 years) and both of his or her parents. Study entry requires involvement of the OCD-affected individual and both parents. For more information, visit www.ocdgenetics.org.

TLC Presents New Reality Series "Hoarding: Buried Alive" Hoarding: Buried Alive goes inside the homes of extreme hoarders to explore the psychology behind their compulsion to accumulate and store large quantities of nonessential things. Each episode will tell the stories of two severe hoarders struggling with behavior that has made every day existence unbearable for both them and their loved ones. With the help of expert therapists and organizers, the hoarders will attempt to unlock the key to their obsessions in the hope of reclaiming their lives. Episodes air on Sunday nights (Check your local TV listings). For more information visit tlc.discovery.com/tv/hoarding-buried-alive/.

The OC Foundation is now called the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) To better reflect its purpose as the foremost global resource regarding OCD and related illnesses, the OC Foundation has recently changed its name to the International OCD Foundation. However, its mission remains the same: to exist as an organization created to educate the public and professionals about OCD in order to raise awareness and improve the quality of treatment provided, support research into the causes of, and effective treatments for, OCD and related disorders, improve access to resources for those with OCD and their families, and advocate and lobby on behalf of the OCD community.

A&E presents the original non-fiction series "Hoarders" A&E profiles people with the compulsive-hoarding disorder. Each episode is a fascinating look inside the lives of people whose inability to part with their belongings is so out of control that they are on the verge of a personal crisis. They are all desperately in need of help. A&E captures the drama as experts work to put each on the road to recovery. For more information visit www.aetv.com/hoarders/.

Come Join the Happiness Club! The Happiness Club is an organization with the mission to promote the benefits of being happy through meetings, newsletters, and an informative web site. Meetings include a presentation by professional speakers on happiness. Everyone is welcome; admission is free. Meet some wonderful people using happiness in their lives. Learn to have the peace of mind you need and experience happiness now. Meetings are held in the Fairfield, CT area. For more information and meeting locations, visit the club's website at happinessclub.com.

Exciting New OCD Clinical Research at the Institute of Living in Hartford, CT The Anxiety Disorders Center at Hartford Hospital/The Institute of Living is conducting research on new ways to treat OCD. Participants in the ongoing studies will receive free treatment -- either cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or a medication, depending on which study enrollment is in. For more information please call (860) 545-7039 or visit www.instituteofliving.org/ADC/OCDResearch.htm.

Group Members: Participate in our online message board discussion topics! We encourage all group members to use our message board and post your thoughts and comments. Click here to access our message board.

Meeting Handouts & Flyers Now Online! We have placed various handouts and flyers that have been distributed during our support group meetings here on our website. Click here to access them.