Contact:
Shala Nicely
Co-Founder and VP of Programming
OCD Georgia Inc
(404) 884-8042
info@ocdgeorgia.org
New non-profit launches with OCD Awareness Week Event Oct 14
ATLANTA (October3 2011) – OCD Georgia, Inc. (www.ocdgeorgia.org), the official Georgia affiliate of the International OCD Foundation, launches this month to increase awareness of OCD and related disorders in Georgia, with the goal of helping to reduce the time it takes people suffering from OCD to find the right treatment.
Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, is estimated to affect 4 million people in the United States. According to The International OCD Foundation (www.ocfoundation.org), individuals with OCD can spend on average between 14 and 17 years from the time OCD symptoms begin until they receive effective treatment – years of needless suffering and anxiety.
IOCDF affiliates carry out the Foundation’s mission through programs at the local, community level.
“There are so many people in Georgia who have not received the appropriate treatment for OCD, or who have not even been properly diagnosed,” said Dr. Rebecca Beaton, co-founder and president of OCD Georgia, Inc. “Through educational programming and outreach activities, the goal of OCD Georgia, Inc, is to raise awareness of OCD at the local level and assist people in getting effective treatment faster.”
OCD Georgia’s first event is a workshop for mental health professionals entitled “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: The Latest Research & Treatment.” This event will be held during OCD Awareness Week on Friday, Oct 14 from 9 a.m to 3:30 p.m at 1640 Powers Ferry Road, Building 9, Suite 100 in Marietta, GA 30067. The Anxiety & Stress Management Institute is a co-sponsor, and all proceeds will support OCD Georgia. To register for this event please visit http://www.stressmgt.net/asmi_ocd_workshop.htm
“We are thrilled that OCD Georgia has joined our growing family of affiliates,” said Jeff Szymanski, PhD, executive director of the International OCD Foundation. “Providing resources at the local level is crucial to improving care and support for OCD sufferers. We look forward to working with OCD Georgia as it develops programming across the state.”
About OCD Georgia, Inc.
OCD Georgia, Inc., the Georgia affiliate of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), was founded in 2011 to increase awareness of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and its treatment, provide information to Georgians with OCD and related disorders and their families and friends, and offer OCD educational and outreach programs to mental health professionals and the Georgia community. Through providing resources at the local level, the goal of OCD Georgia is to help reduce the time it takes people suffering from OCD to find the right treatment. For more information, or to become involved with OCD Georgia, please visit www.ocdgeorgia.org or call 404-884-8042.
About The International OCD Foundation
The International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) is the foremost resource about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and related illnesses. It is an international organization that exists to raise awareness among policy makers and the general public about OCD, educate the mental health community about the latest treatments and research, connect people suffering from OCD with treatment providers, and advance research for more effective treatments. Based in Boston, the IOCDF has affiliates in 16 states and in Washington, DC and Puerto Rico. The IOCDF was founded as the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation in 1986 by a dozen OCD patients at Yale. Now in its 25th year the organization has a $1 million annual operating budget, has granted millions of dollars for treatment research, and is a resource for tens of thousands of people. For more information visit www.ocfoundation.org.