News

Stanford Medicine is currently recruiting patients with OCD for a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) clinical trial. DBS has provisional FDA approval for treating OCD under the Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) and has shown significant benefit for many patients, but 40-50% of patients who have gotten DBS for OCD do not respond to the treatment. The purpose of their trial is to use multiple temporary implantable electrodes to identify the optimal stimulation locations in the brain for each patient that most effectively relieve their OCD symptoms, and then implant a DBS device with permanent electrodes at the best stimulation sites. The hope is to use this research to personalize OCD DBS treatment more effectively to improve patient outcomes.

Because this is an invasive clinical trial, they are enrolling patients with markers of severe OCD with a high degree of treatment resistance. Participants will need to meet the following criteria:

• Between the ages of 22 and 75.
• Have had OCD for more than 5 years.
• OCD is their primary psychiatric diagnosis.
• No substance use disorder in the last 2 years.
• No lifetime history of bipolar disorder or a psychotic disorder.
• Severe OCD symptoms.
• Failure to respond to multiple trials of medications, including two SSRI trials at maximum FDA approved dose, a trial of clomipramine, and at least 1 trial of augmentation with an antipsychotic medication.
• Failure to respond to Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
• No history of severe head trauma, implanted devices, or metal in the head.
• Does not plan to become pregnant in the next 3 years.

If you or someone you know would be a good candidate for this study, please reach out to Stanford Medicine at ocddbsstudy@stanford.edu.

Click here to download the survey’s information sheet.

The Online Hoarding Disorder Conference offers an opportunity for professionals — from therapists and social workers to firefighters and other public safety officials — to learn how to work effectively and compassionately with individuals with hoarding disorder (HD).

Professionals will hear from leading researchers and experts in the field and will walk away with a new understanding and practical strategies for working with those affected by HD.

The Online Hoarding Disorder Conference also provides useful information to individuals with lived experience, families and supporters affected by HD, community providers, clinicians and researchers to educate about effective and compassionate care.

The program for the Online Hoarding Disorder Conference will be released in early 2024. The full schedule will feature sessions for a variety of audiences:

• Individuals with Hoarding Disorder: Those with lived experience with hoarding disorder. Programming focuses on recovery options and building motivation for treatment.
• Family Members and Supporters: Non-professionals who have been affected by hoarding disorder in their families or other relations. Programming focuses on communication skills and effective support systems.
• Community Providers: Professionals outside of the mental health space who work with or on behalf of those with hoarding disorder, such as human service providers, housing authorities, case managers, first responders, government officials, etc. Programming focuses on strategies for addressing hoarding disorder in communities, including interventions and collaboration models.
• Clinicians and Researchers: Mental health professionals who treat and/or research hoarding disorder. Programming focuses on skills training and enhancing the clinical understanding of the disorder.

ANNOUNCING THE 2024 FAITH & OCD CONFERENCE
Navigating OCD in Diverse Faith-Based Communities

Thursday, April 18, 2024
REGISTRATION OPENING SOON!

The International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) is excited to present the fourth annual Faith and OCD Conference taking place virtually on Thursday, April 18, 2024!

The conference was specifically created to address the needs of a diverse community — spanning all faiths, ethnicities, and backgrounds. We’ll provide education about effective treatment and ways to support those in the faith community living with OCD.

Join the IOCDF for this collaborative conversation between faith leaders, mental health providers, and the OCD community!

Join us for this collaborative conversation between faith leaders, mental health providers, and the OCD community!

Who Should Attend

Individuals & Families — Those with lived experience with anxiety and OCD will hear from faith leaders and mental health professionals about how to build a supportive network for recovery — and receive messages of hope shared by those impacted by OCD and related disorders.

Faith Leaders — Spiritual and religious leaders will hear from those with lived experience with faith-related anxiety and OCD and find out how to recognize symptoms. Learn about treatment options and how you can help in the recovery process.

Mental Health Professionals — Mental health providers will gain insight from faith leaders about the ways anxiety, OCD, and treatment intersect with their clients’ faith practices. Learn how to adapt your practice by integrating faith leaders and families in the development of treatment plans.

Board members of OCD Connecticut, along with Christina J. Taylor, Ph.D., OCD Connecticut Clinical Board Advisor, will be presenting a roundtable, “Barriers to Getting Good Help for OCD: Consumers and Advocates Speak Out” at the ADAA Annual Conference in Boston on April 13, 2024.

The board members will discuss their first-hand experiences with OCD and their journey to activism. Discussion with the audience will focus on the development of comprehensive strategies to expand access to expert care for OCD, including education, research, activism, and lobbying.

The Online BDD Conference offers an opportunity for professionals to learn how to treat individuals with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).

Professionals will hear from leading researchers and experts in the field and will walk away with a new understanding and practical strategies for working with those affected by BDD.

The Online BDD Conference also provides critical information to individuals, families, and loved ones affected by BDD to educate people and their families about effective treatment.

Individuals living with BDD will participate in a support group led by Scott Granet, LCSW, while family members and supporters will enjoy a special group geared at learning to take care of yourself while supporting a loved one.

An additional highlight of the program is the Success Panel featuring individuals with BDD who have been through treatment and want to share the lessons they learned along the way. The panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A with the panelists.The full schedule will feature sessions for a variety of audiences:

• Individuals with BDD: Those with lived experience with BDD. Programming focuses on recovery options and building motivation for treatment.
• Family Members and Supporters: Non-professionals who have been affected by BDD in their families or other relations. Programming focuses on communication skills and effective support systems.
• Clinicians: Professionals who treat BDD. Programming focuses on skills training and enhancing the clinical understanding of the disorder.

The International OCD Foundation’s Online OCD Camp sponsored by McLean OCDI Jr. is a virtual event for youth with OCD, and their families!

Created especially for youth between the ages of 6 and 17, OCD Camp will feature two days of interactive sessions and activities for three age groups.

In addition, the program will include sessions for parents/guardians and opportunities for fun and socialization with other families.

You can choose from four audience tracks:

• Elementary Schoolers (Suggested Ages 6–11)
• Middle Schoolers (Suggested Ages 12–14)
• High Schoolers (Suggested Ages: 15–17)
• Parents and Guardians

Registration Fees: $65 • One rate no matter how many family members attend.

One price covers registration, whether it’s just one person or your entire family attending! During the registration process, you will submit family member information and which tracks they will be attending.

Inference-based Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (I-CBT) is an evidence-based treatment that is a new approach to treating OCD. It is based on the central idea that obsessions are abnormal doubts about what “could be”, or “might be” (e.g. “I might have left the stove on”; “I might be contaminated”; “I might be a deviant”).

According to this approach, obsessional doubts do not come out of the blue, but they arise as the result of a dysfunctional reasoning narrative that is characterized by a tendency to distrust the senses and an over-reliance on the imagination. As a result, obsessional doubts are able to persist without ever being resolved by carrying out compulsions.

I-CBT is a cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT), but it is different from standard cognitive-behavioral approaches to the treatment of OCD.

To learn more about I-CBT, go to icbt.online.

IOCDF is so happy to announce the launch of its new livestream series, Supporting Our Families, with a premiere air date of Thursday, November 9th at 7pm ET (4pm PT) on YouTube!

This livestream event will be an interactive discussion dedicated to parents and loved ones of individuals of all ages living with OCD. Join JACK Mental Health Advocacy (MHA) founder, IOCDF Advocate, and mom Kim Vincenty, along with parent and IOCDF Advocate Chris Baier, and IOCDF experts, Natasha Daniels, LCSW, and Jon Hershfield, MFT as they explore the topics that are important to you.

If you have questions about accommodating and reassurance, finding the right therapist, dealing with treatment resistance, or the many other unique issues facing parents of those with OCD, this event is for you.

Mark your calendars and we hope to see you there!

The Tomczak Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital’s Department of Neurology is currently conducting a study where they are trying to characterize the gut microbiome in patients with Chronic Tic Disorders (CTD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Tic Associated OCD (TOCD) as compared to healthy controls and correlate variations in the gut microbiome with OCD and tic symptom severity. Currently, they are in the recruitment stage and are hoping that they may be able to connect for patient referrals for its study. There are eligibility requirements for the patients that they are recruiting such as:

Inclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who are age 6 to 17 with obsessive-compulsive disorder, chronic tic disorder, or are healthy controls without any neurological conditions.
• Parents or legal guardians willing to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who do not speak English
• Patients with bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, functional neurologic disorders, Autism spectrum disorder, moderate to severe depression not in remission within the past year, eating disorders, or are pregnant.
• Patients with a prior diagnosis of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS) or Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS).
• Patients with co-morbid GI conditions including obesity, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, abdominal migraines, gastrointestinal cancers, gastric emptying disorders, and peptic ulcer disease.
• Patients who have had medication changes in the 4 weeks prior to either stool collection time point.

If you are interested in participating in this study, call 617-919-9302 or email BCHTicsOCD@childrens.harvard.edu. Download a summary of the study’s information.