23rd Annual OCD Conference

Join us as we transform into OCD Superheroes! Kids will first attend Superhero School, where they will learn how ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) can give kids special powers to take on their OCD enemies. In Superhero School, kids will identify their own values and make masks that represent their superpowers. Once kids have the strength of values behind them they will test their skills by facing their OCD Supervillians. Different OCD Supervillians will try to weaken the OCD Superheroes, but kids will use their newly developed powers to live their best life while facing anxiety, fear, and doubt. Join us for a fun-filled exposure workshop where kids will have the opportunity to use ACT skills to boost their OCD-fighting skills.

The force within you is stronger than your OCD! It is time to get tough with OCD, and this workshop will show you how to do it. Change and treatment can sound scary at first, but we will discuss how to get prepared to stand up to OCD by building your confidence, and learning some really cool Jedi mind skills! Jedi's must learn skills like mindfulness and calming breath to prepare themselves for a duel. These skills can help when it is time to do ERP exercises. Kids will have the chance to practice skills and make some great friends on the good side of the force.

Even after treatment, OCD symptoms may come back during stressful situations. It's best to be prepared and to learn how to maintain treatment gains even when life is unpredictable. During this interactive workshop, kids will learn to identify situations and emotions that may be triggers for anxiety, develop a list of daily wellness behaviors, and generate ideas for alternative behaviors to compulsions and avoidance. Role-playing and working through relapse scenarios will give children the opportunity to prepare for and practice overcoming slip-ups. This workshop helps children to conceptualize slip-ups as opportunities for improvement and teaches them how to better manage their symptoms as they take steps towards maintaining a healthy life style.

This is a fun interactive workshop for kids with OCD aimed at improving their ability to identify and address obsessions/compulsions through using Disney characters. Children will learn and discuss idiosyncrasies about the characters that, if heightened, could be considered obsessive-compulsive, and will work together to create treatment plans that would help the characters overcome their fears. It will be an entertaining activity for kids to learn about the various symptoms of OCD, how to pinpoint them, and how to overcome them. Kids will also discuss how the behaviors they identify in the characters relate to their own experiences of OCD.