OCD-Midwest

12/18/2025

Kick off the new year by joining Amber Young to learn about OCD! CE credits available.

12/16/2025

📣 Update: Event Rescheduled — Save the New Date!

OCD Midwest has some exciting news!

Due to scheduling changes, our OCD Midwest Documentary Screening & Awareness Panel has been rescheduled to March 3, 2026 — and we can’t wait to gather with you for this powerful evening of awareness, education, and community.

📅 New Date: March 3, 2026
📍 Location: Kent State University – Kiva Theatre

OCD Midwest is proud to host this special event and to partner with our generous sponsors:
Hopewell Therapeutic Farm, Newport Healthcare, Aspire Anxiety & OCD Solutions, and Palladium Counseling Group.

The evening will feature a screening of “Living with Me and My OCD,” a moving, personal documentary produced, directed, and filmed by Claire Watkinson. The film centers the voices of individuals living with OCD and highlights the critical need for increased understanding and awareness.

Following the screening, please stay for a panel discussion featuring individuals with lived experience and clinical experts.

✨ Arrive early to explore our resource fair, connect with local providers and organizations, gather helpful materials, and enter our raffle for a chance to win fun prizes, all while supporting a great cause.

💙 All proceeds from the event directly support OCD Midwest’s mission, funding future community education, trainings, and outreach.

🎟 Register here:
https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/ocdmidwest/rescheduled-movie-screening-and-panel-living-with-me-and-my-ocd

We appreciate your flexibility and look forward to seeing you in March!

12/09/2025

12/01/2025

The Summit County Hoarding Task Force in Ohio is excited to invite you to a FREE virtual learning event on Thursday, December 11th from 8:45 am to 12:00 pm.

From Ethics to Action: Addressing Hoarding and Animal Hoarding with Compassion

We all know that hoarding affects more than just the individual - it can impact families, neighbors, communities, and even pets. That is why this event takes a closer look at both hoarding and animal hoarding through lenses of ethics, action, and compassion.

We are thrilled to feature two engaging speakers:

Kathleen Crombie, MA, MEd
Animal Hoarding: Compassionate Approach to a Complex Disorder

You’ll learn how to:

Understand animal hoarding as a mental health issue

Explore the psychological and behavioral aspects behind it

Identify effective ways to assess, intervene, and collaborate across systems

Chris Dubble, MSW
10 Practical Tips for Ethically Addressing Hoarding Disorder

You’ll walk away able to:

Recognize key ethical principles like autonomy and beneficence

Apply ten practical, ethical tips when addressing hoarding situations

Navigate legal and ethical decisions around safety and self-determination

This event is open to both professionals and community members and because it is virtual, you can join us from anywhere!
CEUs will be available for certain disciplines (see registration details for more info).

Ready to join us?
Click the registration link in the attached flyer or register at the link below to save your spot.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeLiTREOpSyaBI8ljuORtcWCTlgt6S1uRUxiJ6-gJ5ABGIUTQ/viewform

We hope you’ll take part in this meaningful morning of learning, reflection, and connection. Together, we can approach hoarding and animal hoarding with greater understanding and a lot more compassion.

11/25/2025

✨ Last Call for Holiday Messages of Hope! ✨

As we move deeper into the holiday season, many in our community could use a little extra encouragement. IOCDF partnering with Not Alone Notes to send supportive, heartfelt cards to individuals currently in OCD Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOPs). 💛

For someone away from home, a simple message can be a powerful reminder that they’re not alone.

📬 There’s still time to join!
All cards must be postmarked by November 26, 2025.

How to participate:
🎄 Download a festive template or create your own secular/non-denominational card
💛 Write a message of hope (sample messages available!)
📮 Mail all cards in one envelope to:

IOCDF – Messages of Hope
P.O. Box 961029
Boston, MA 02196

All details + templates here:
🔗 notalonenotes.org/holidays/

Please help us spread the word today and tomorrow—share this post or pass along the link! Your kindness truly makes a difference this season. 💛✨

11/05/2025

Today would have been our Founder, Rodney Benson’s birthday.
We honor and celebrate him by continuing his mission to support and train new clinicians in providing effective OCD treatment.

OCD Midwest proudly offers one annual scholarship to an OCD-related conference to help clinicians receive specialized training in this life-saving work.

To learn more or apply, please visit: https://www.ocdmidwest.org/rodney-benson-scholarship

If you would like to contribute to the Rodney Benson Scholarship Fund, donations can be made via Venmo at OCDMidwest01 — please include “Rodney Benson” in the note.

Happy Birthday, Rodney!
Your legacy continues through the clinicians and lives touched by your work. 💙

10/20/2025

Dr. Patrick McGrath is presenting at the Online Conference! We hope you join us! Scan the code of visit the link, ocdconference.eventbrite.com to register.

10/15/2025

OCD Midwest is excited to host an upcoming CEU event!

🚨 CE Webinar: Integrating MI & ERP for OCD & Anxiety 🚨
🗓 Date: 11/20/25
⏰ Time: 12 PM CST

Learn how Motivational Interviewing (MI) can boost engagement and readiness for Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP)—making treatment for OCD and anxiety more effective.

Presenter: Katie, LCSW, Director at Compass Health Center, with 15 years treating OCD & anxiety across all ages.

CE Credit: 1

📌 Register by scanning the code or visiting:

https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/ocdmidwest/integrating-motivational-interviewing-mi-and-exposure-and-response-prevention-erp-to-enhance-ocd-and-anxiety-treatment

10/14/2025

Akron-Canton celebrated OCD awareness week this weekend by dusting off their walking shoes and getting in their steps for a good cause! Our walk was filled with hope, empowerment, and beautiful fall weather. We are so grateful for all who participated! Our exposure lab and games were a hit! 

A massive thank you to our top donors, Palladium Counseling Group and Aspire Anxiety & OCD Solutions!

10/10/2025

OCD week has officially been recognized by the state of Illinois!! 🙂

10/08/2025

Check out some of our favorite moments from the Columbus OCD walk! We were thankful to have had another beautiful day to gather the OCD community! To kick off the day we listened to two speakers who bravely shared their stories and offered insight into the OCD journey. One of our speakers shared that she had long been misdiagnosed before finally learning that she really had OCD. Her story showed us exactly why we need the fundraising part of this walk- a very important piece of the pie goes toward quality training for providers in the identification and proper treatment of OCD! Team “Don’t StERP Believing” was recognized for being the top team in fundraising. As a group we raised over $3,000 this year through all the donations collected as well as raffle tickets /cookies sold after the walk. With old and new faces in the crowd we had opportunities to reconnect and/or discover friends in the OCD community. In this community It doesn’t matter that no one’s journey looks exactly alike, you’re still in good company. The biggest success for OCD Walk 2025 was the continued demonstration that you’re not alone!

If you missed our Columbus walk, there's still an opportunity to join us at our Akron-Canton walk THIS Saturday at Boettler Park in Green, Ohio!
Register or donate at IOCDF.org/akroncantonwalk

10/06/2025

Saturday was the FIRST annual OCD walk for Indianapolis! It was a marvelous time and we are so grateful to all who attended and/or donated. Scroll to see some of the fun from the day!   Thank you to all the volunteers and participants who helped make the walk a success!!😊