About Us

The Fairfield County OCD Support Group was founded in 2005 by Diane E. Sholomskas, Ph.D. and Christina J. Taylor, Ph.D. for the purpose of providing an informal and relaxed support forum in the Fairfield County area for individuals and families dealing with OCD.

Dr. Sholomskas and Dr. Taylor serve as our group meeting facilitators.

Our History

Our group originally began with the support of the OCD Foundation (Patricia Perkins, founder and director) in the 1990s. Meetings were originally held in Milford, CT. Years later, when the headquarters for the OCD Foundation moved from Connecticut to Massachusetts, Dr. Sholomskas and Dr. Taylor were asked to continue the group.

Our Mission

The purpose of this group is to provide a forum for members to learn and use the principles of exposure and response prevention treatment for OCD. We intend to provide an opportunity for individuals with OCD and their family members to learn, share experiences, and provide support for practicing the skills for managing OCD. The facilitators offer guidance and support, and the group participants take responsibility for directing the topics each month.

The group meets monthly, on the third Monday of the month, from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm from September to June, except on holidays.

We are an open group, meaning anyone may attend meetings each month as they choose.

Participating in our group will give you the opportunity to socialize, meet new people, and make new friends. Because social anxiety is the most common anxiety issue that accompanies OCD, the support group represents an excellent therapeutic opportunity to tackle social fears in a very affirming environment.

We consider our meetings a safe space where people with similar experiences can support each other. This can help reduce the feeling of loneliness and create a sense of community.

We do not offer therapeutic group therapy. Group therapy is led by a trained therapist and involves structured therapy sessions. Our support group, however, focuses on emotional support, practical advice, and coping mechanisms.

To make our group function as it should, we ask that you abide by certain support group ground rules.

About Our Facilitators

Diane E. Sholomskas, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist specializing in cognitive-behavioral treatments for anxiety disorders, mood disorders and phobias. Dr. Sholomskas is also an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine. She has conducted clinical research on the epidemiology, psychological and pharmacological treatments of mood and anxiety disorders and has published and presented on these topics. Dr. Sholomskas is the recipient of an OC Foundation Award for the study of group-delivered exposure and response prevention treatment for OCD. In addition, she is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the National Obsessive Compulsive Foundation. Dr. Sholomskas has a private practice in Hamden, Connecticut. For more information on Dr. Sholomskas you can visit her website at anxietyrx.net/diane-sholomskas.php.

Christina J. Taylor, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist who specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Social Phobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Specific Phobias, and the OCD spectrum disorder Trichotillomania. Dr. Taylor is well known as a leading provider of cognitive-behavioral treatment for OCD and anxiety disorders. She has a private practice in Fairfield, Connecticut. In addition, Dr. Taylor is a Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychology at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. She is also is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the National Obsessive Compulsive Foundation and served on the National Institute of Mental Health Treatment Outcome Study on Panic Disorder at Yale University. For more information on Dr. Taylor you can visit her website at christinajtaylorphd.com. Click here to visit her Facebook page.

Dr. Taylor's latest book is "OCD: A Workbook for Clinicians, Children and Teens; Actions to Beat, Control & Defeat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder". It's available on Amazon.com and Pesi.com.

For more information about the practices of Dr. Taylor and Dr. Sholomskas, click here