Announcing the #OCDchat line-up for OCD Awareness Week!

UPDATED 10/11/13: OCD Q&A for Teens and Young Adults has a new time! See below.

Our online #OCDchat series is back for OCD Awareness Week next week, and we’ll be hosting experts to talk with you about a different topic Monday – Friday.  Participating in the online chat is easier than ever — no Twitter or Facebook account is needed.  Just go to iocdf.org/ocdchat to join the conversation, and ask the experts your questions!

The schedule for next week’s #OCDchat series is:

Mon, 10/14 at 12pm ET – Coming Out with OCD with Alison Dotson, Jackie Sommers, & Shannon Shy

Join the conversation about “coming out” to friends, family, and coworkers about having OCD. Get support, talk about your coming out experiences, and why stigma still makes this a challenge.  Alison Dotson and Jackie Lea Sommers are both guest contributors to the IOCDF blog where they write about their experiences with OCD.  Shannon Shy is a board member of the IOCDF, as well as the author of the book “It’ll be Okay.” How I Kept Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) from Ruining My Life, about confronting and overcoming OCD.

Tue, 10/15 at 12pm ET – Starting your own OCD Support Group with Denise Egan Stack, LMHC, Marissa Keegan, & Jeff Szymanski, PhD.

Don’t have a support group near you? Learn how to start your own! Denise Egan Stack, LMHC, is the current Board President of the IOCDF, president of OCD Massachusetts, and co-director of Cape & Islands CBI, where she coordinates a number of support groups across the state in her roles with the OCD Mass affiliate and her private practice. Marissa Keegan is the Program Director of the IOCDF, and Dr. Szymanski is the executive director of the IOCDF and a clinical psychologist.

Wed, 10/16 at 3:30pm ET – OCD Q&A for Teens and Young Adults with Fred Penzel, PhD

Teens and Young Adults: now is your chance to ask all of your questions about OCD, treatment, and life with OCD. Guest expert Fred Penzel, PhD, runs the always popular OCD support group for teens at the Annual OCD Conference. Dr. Penzel is a licensed psychologist, and is the executive director of Western Suffolk Psychological Services. Within his practice, he specializes in the Cognitive/Behavioral treatment of OCD, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Body-focused Repetitive Behaviors such as Trichotillomania and Compulsive Skin-picking, Panic and Agoraphobia, phobias, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

Thur, 10/17 at 12pm ET – OCD Research Updates with Jon Abramowitz, PhD

Dr. Abramowitz is a Professor and Associate Chair of Psychology at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, and the author of Getting Over OCD A 10-Step Workbook for Taking: Back Your Life. You can find him on Twitter as @DrJonAbram.

Fri, 10/18 at 12pm ET – OCD Medication Q&A with Wayne Goodman, PhD

Dr. Goodman is a Professor & Chair of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai. As Chair of Psychiatry, Dr. Goodman works closely with the new Mount Sinai Brain Institute to conduct research on neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and mood disorders. Dr. Goodman is an expert psycho-pharmacologist who previously served as Chair of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Psychopharmacologic Drug Advisory Committee. Dr. Goodman is also the co-founder of the International OCD Foundation, and won the 2012 IOCDF Career Achievement Award for his dedicated service to the OCD community.

See you next week!  Just go to iocdf.org/ocdchat to join the conversation, and ask the experts your questions!