S4E149: Season 4 Premiere: We Walked For OCD Awareness & Here's What Happened!

Summary

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OCD Family Podcast

S4E149: Season 4 Premiere: We Walked For OCD Awareness & Here's What Happened!

Host: Nicole Morris, LMFT
Date: October 10, 2025

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Overview

In the Season 4 premiere of the OCD Family Podcast, host Nicole Morris, LMFT, celebrates the return of the show after an unexpected tech-related hiatus. She dives into the significance of October as OCD Awareness Month, sharing stories, interviews, and experiences from Indiana’s first-ever IOCDF "Million Steps for a Cure" walk. This episode spotlights clinicians, advocates, supporters, and people with lived experience, focusing on building community, raising awareness, and supporting families affected by OCD.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Podcast Return and Tech Troubles

• Nicole addresses her recent month-long absence due to severe internet and recording issues, humorously describing "routers crapping out" and the struggle to resolve technical mishaps.
• Despite frustrations, she frames the break as necessary self-compassion and a lesson in accepting what’s outside one’s control.
• Announces new season plans: upcoming interviews with Dr. Michael Greenberg, OC Related Disorders (OCRD) series in November, and collaborations with favorite guests.

Quote:
"You can't make the techie things do techie things that you don't know how to resolve... We ultimately had to replace the system. But I think we are back in business." — Nicole (04:20)

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2. Indiana’s First-Ever OCD Walk

• The central focus is on Indiana’s first IOCDF-sponsored OCD awareness walk, orchestrated by OCD Midwest and local advocates.
• Nicole captures the event as a day of "community, connection, and people showing up for themselves and their loved ones."
• The walk involved clinicians, family members, partners, local organizations, and grassroots supporters.

Quote:
"It was a day full of community, connection and people showing up for themselves and their loved ones." — Nicole (02:29)

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3. Community Resource Highlights

a. Zamwell and Mental Health Conversations

Interview with Dr. Courtney Ward (06:31–09:13):

• Zamwell (Zionsville Alliance for Mental Wellness), founded in 2023, aims to foster open conversations and provide resources about mental health.
• Zamwell’s podcast "Unmasked" covers diverse topics like navigating therapy and suicide prevention for youth.
• Initiatives include educational seminars and local provider directories.

Quote:
"The goal of our nonprofit is really just to encourage conversations about mental wellness..." — Dr. Courtney Ward (06:51)

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b. Grassroots Advocacy and Consultation

Interview with Amber Young (10:17–16:48):

• Amber, seasoned advocate and organizer, discusses her years-long dream to bring an OCD walk to Indiana and her commitment to building inter-clinician collaboration.
• Runs Indiana’s free monthly OCD Consultation Group via OCD Midwest for clinicians at all levels.
• Shifting from clinical to advocacy and policy work, Amber calls for collaboration:
  “If you are somebody who has connections and abilities in terms of advocacy, policy, those types of things, I would love to hear from you. Let's not reinvent the wheel.” (16:20)

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4. Partner & Family Support

a. Partners’ Perspectives

• Aditi (18:30–21:33): Shares her journey supporting her partner with OCD, first in Boston then Indiana. She fundraises via curated vintage thrift sales and offers advice on learning not to provide reassurance.
  “Learning how to not do that, not fan the flame of OCD, that can be really challenging...” — Aditi (20:29)
• Cameron (22:47–25:07): Discusses logistical and emotional support for his fiancée whose OCD complicates travel for therapy. They joined the walk through a support group.

b. Importance of Partners

• Nicole celebrates the visible presence of partners at the walk, emphasizing that OCD impacts the entire family and highlighting the power of community support.

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5. Clinician Perspectives and Training

a. Bronwyn Schroyer, OCD Training School (28:56–34:05)

• Grand marshal of the walk and ICBT (Inference-Based CBT) specialist.
• Notes the upcoming International OCD Conference in Indianapolis in two years.
• Discusses the value of multiple OCD treatments: ERP, ICBT, ACT, and intersection with trauma work.
• Emphasizes the importance of options and growing evidence base.

Quote:
"Adding in another tool is always a good thing in my mind, especially with that evidence base growing..." — Bronwyn (31:38)

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b. Angie Henry: Statewide Advocacy (35:31–40:44)

• Co-chair of the walk, prominent provider in Indiana, and advocate for BFRBs, PANS/PANDAS, and tic disorders.
• Talks about the event’s logistical triumphs, community involvement, and the importance of quick psychoeducation to reduce suffering time.
• Celebrates fundraising success and local organizational support.

Quote:
"We can do better. So this is a way that at least in Hoosierland here this weekend, that we did our job in helping raise information..." — Angie (38:03)

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c. Ellie Skelton: Outreach and Connection (42:03–47:55)

• Chair of Outreach for OCD Midwest and walk organizer.
• Reflects on the unique spirit of each regional walk and the necessity of team effort.
• Stresses the importance of spaces where individuals can share their struggles openly, fostering hope and connection.

Quote:
"Each walk has their own different flavor... I just get a rejuvenation of compassion, passion for our community, and such a really great sense of hope." — Ellie (44:05)

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d. Madison (@obsessivelystrong): Advocacy & Lived Experience (48:47–55:25)

• Social media influencer and therapist-in-training, shares her journey from lived experience to professional advocacy.
• Highlights the importance of professional community and mentorship, and organic growth of advocacy.

Quote:
"That's insane to me that, like, two years ago we didn't know each other and, like, just a simple message led to so much connection for me as a lived experience person..." — Madison (54:27)

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e. Jessica Hood: Training Indiana Providers (58:33–64:06)

• Recounts becoming an OCD clinician out of necessity, then organizing training for Indiana therapists to improve access to effective care.
• Her mission: ensuring children and families receive timely evidence-based treatment, reducing the decade-plus wait many experience.

Quote:
"If it takes on average people [so long to get help], that means kids aren't getting the right help when they're kids... people shouldn't have to suffer for a decade before they get therapy that helps them." — Jessica Hood (61:03)

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6. Family Voices & Conclusions

a. A Family’s Experience (65:16–67:36)

• Interview with Joelle (age 6), her mom Alyssa, and family, who attended the walk together, modeling the vital role of family support.
• Both parents express gratitude for the community and the uplifting experience of not feeling alone.

Quote:
"It's all so empowering when we know we're not alone." — Alyssa (66:29)

b. Final Reflections on Community

• Nicole wraps by urging listeners to reflect on the importance of community and shared experiences in fighting OCD.

Quote:
"We expect experience everything in the family and we're like the biggest cheerleaders for each other. So thanks for being here. Thanks for helping everybody know we're not alone..." — Nicole (67:17)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

| Speaker | Quote | Timestamp | |------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Nicole | "You can't make the techie things do techie things that you don't know how to resolve..." | 04:20 | | Dr. Ward | "The goal of our nonprofit is really just to encourage conversations about mental wellness..." | 06:51 | | Amber Young| "Let's not reinvent the wheel. We don't need to do these things alone." | 16:20 | | Aditi | "Learning how to not...fan the flame of OCD...takes a lot of practicing, learning not to do that."| 20:29 | | Bronwyn | "Adding in another tool is always a good thing in my mind, especially with that evidence base growing..." | 31:38| | Angie | "We can do better. So this is a way that at least in Hoosierland...we did our job in helping raise information..." | 38:03| | Ellie | "I just get a rejuvenation of compassion, passion for our community, and such a really great sense of hope." | 44:05| | Madison | "That's insane to me that, like, two years ago we didn't know each other and, like, just a simple message led to so much connection..." | 54:27| | Jessica | "People shouldn't have to suffer for a decade before they get therapy that helps them..." | 61:03 | | Alyssa | "It's all so empowering when we know we're not alone." | 66:29 | | Nicole | "We expect experience everything in the family and we're like the biggest cheerleaders for each other..." | 67:17|

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Additional Highlights & Memorable Moments

• The creative methods of fundraising and awareness (Aditi’s thrift rack; face painting as ERP exposure).
• Partner stories illuminate day-to-day logistics and emotional impacts of supporting someone with OCD.
• The walk’s success is measured in turnout, funds raised, and connection—surpassing fundraising goals thanks to donations and local support.
• The inaugural Indiana walk is set to inspire ongoing advocacy and growth within the state (including the announcement of the 2027 International OCD Conference in Indianapolis!).
• The repeated theme: No one has to do this alone. The OCD community is here, ever-growing, and stronger together.

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Key Timestamps

• 00:00–05:00: Nicole’s absence, tech issues, season preview
• 06:31–09:13: Dr. Courtney Ward talks Zamwell and "Unmasked" podcast
• 10:17–16:48: Interview with Amber Young (advocacy, consultation)
• 18:30–25:07: Partner stories - Aditi and Cameron
• 28:56–34:05: Bronwyn Schroyer (ICBT, OCD Training School)
• 35:31–40:44: Angie Henry (walk organization, state advocacy)
• 42:03–47:55: Ellie Skelton (Midwest outreach, walk reflections)
• 48:47–55:25: Madison/"Obsessively Strong" (advocacy, lived experience)
• 58:33–64:06: Jessica Hood (training clinicians, child/family perspective)
• 65:16–67:36: Joelle’s family (multi-generational participation)

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Tone and Language

The episode and summary maintain Nicole’s warm, authentic, and occasionally humorous tone—balancing clinical insight, real-world obstacles, and hope. The language is supportive, encouraging, and filled with gratitude for both professionals and families.

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For Listeners: Why This Episode Matters

This episode is a masterclass in grassroots advocacy and family support. It demonstrates how local efforts can inspire statewide and even national change, celebrates multiple modalities for OCD treatment, and showcases the essential role of every stakeholder: providers, partners, parents, and children. Whether you’re navigating OCD in your family, treating it as a clinician, or just learning, this episode offers hope, direction, and practical resources.

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For more information, resources, and connections, visit ocdfamilypodcast.com.

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Transcript

[A]

Want a recipe for success? Step one, visit ocdfamilypodcast.com courses. Step two, click on my link to browse OCD Training School's amazing course catalog. Step three, enroll. And step four, enjoy learning with no added cost to you. You can support the OCD family community while grabbing some continuing education or learning how to bridge yourself to self help strategies for OCD. Again, that's ocdfamilypodcast.com courses and use my special link to sign up today. Hey fam, it's been a minute, right? I know, I know. About a month ago I was like, yay, next week is our season premiere. But guess what? The Internet, the recording setup, life, it apparently had other plans for me. Meaning I've actually been radio silent for the past month. That is the longest break that I've ever had from the POD in all four seasons. And that's right, I said four seasons. Because that makes today our season premiere for season four. What?

[B]

What?

[A]

So we're back and I've got something really special for you in this episode. October is OCD Awareness month and this past week actually wrapped up O C D Awareness week. And to celebrate, I had the chance to attend and record some interviews at our first ever Indiana based IOCDF walk held in beautiful Zinesville, Indiana. And it was such an honor to work with OCD Midwest and IOCDF to bring the first million steps for a cure to this state. It was a day full of community, connection and people showing up for themselves and their loved ones. And I'm excited to bring you some of the voices and stories from that day. So let's dive right in because I've got so much to share. I'm Nicole Morris, licensed marriage and family therapist and mental health correspondent. And let me be the first to say welcome to the family, the OCD family that is. I am here to create a community of support for family members, spouses, partners, parents, adult children, as there may be adult words and chosen family of OCD sufferers and their community. I've had over 22 years of experience in the mental health field. But please note that this information does not qualify or substitute as a diagnostic evaluation, therapy or treatment and it is presented on an as is basis. Please follow up with a qualified mental health provider in your area regarding concerns for yourself or loved ones. Thank you for joining us today. Now let's get started. Alrighty. Alrighty. Righty, righty. It feels so good to be back with you, fam. I have missed you. I've gotten some notes like, hey girl, you okay? What's up? And I appreciate it. I will just say I don't understand all the tech things, but we have very high speed Internet in the house. And there are, I'm going to call them routers or some kind of like frequency providers that help bounce that high capacity signal across the home. There's a couple different ports. So we have lightning fast Internet anywhere you go in the house. And as it happens, my podcasting studio is probably as far from the actual Internet router in the home as it can get. So what happened was apparently these frequency providers that bounce the really strong signal crapped out. I'm just gonna say crapped out because that's like the way my brain understands it. Okay. And so we went through the process of calling and fussing with them until finally they were like, hey, we'll just send you a new unit. And then we got the new unit. And guess what? The new unit wasn't working either. I found this out because I was recording with guests and preparing these episodes for you. And the recording process was arduous. It was painful because the delay, because the Internet wasn't crisp where I was recording, we were kind of talking over each other. That wasn't fair to the guests. It wasn't fair to you. And so here I was like, yay, we had our final water cooler jet. We're finally back, and I was having this Internet problem. So we replaced the I'm gonna call em routers again with some new and improved better working routers, and now we're back in business. But I appreciate the check ins from folks and I appreciate your patience. I absolutely have missed this though, and I love the interviews. I've been just chomping at the bit to have all these wonderful conversations and we have so many great things to had. I'm talking with the wonderful Dr. Michael Greenberg and you're gonna be able to hear that episode during OCD Awareness Month. I have different advocates with lived experience. We have the OCRD series coming up, which if you're newer fam, that's the OC Related Disorder series. And it's one of my favorites. I run it every fall during the month of November. And so there's a lot of really exciting things. I'm talking with some new peeps and also collaborating with some of our favorite guests around here, like Dr. Anthony Pinto and more. So I apologize, but it really was one of those things where I was like, Nicole, it's outside of your circle of control. You can only do what you can do. You can't make the techie things do techie things that you don't know how to resolve. We tried to go through different appropriate channels and get things fixed and replaced, and we ultimately had to replace the system. But I think we are back in business. I am so excited. And what a wonderful way to kick off season four with different stories, different resources, different really cool ways of raising awareness. Aditi, I'm talking about you, girl. So without further ado, first up, we have my neighboring table, my purple booth twin, and that would be Dr. Courtney Ward from Zamwell. Courtney and I bonded instantly over all things Violet because we were both, like, here for the purple vibe. You know, purple is one of OCD family podcast brand colors, and it happens to represent Samwell as well. And if you're like, what? Samwell? No worries. I'm gonna have Courtney tell you herself because she is doing vital work for mental health awareness here in the state of Indiana. And I can't wait for you to hear more, Courtney.

[C]

We are tablemates here at the OCD walk, first ever in Indiana through IOCDF and OCD Midwest. And we're both purple girlies.

[A]

We have booths that are purple.

[D]

All the purple today.

[C]

I am loving it. So would love for you to tell us more about what you're doing out here today and the kind of aware and resources that you guys provide.

[E]

Yeah, thanks.

[D]

So I'm with Zamwell, which stands for the Zionsville alliance for Mental Wellness. We're a nonprofit that was formed in 2023. The goal of our nonprofit is really just to encourage conversations about mental wellness and to have a place where people can have resources and discussions about mental health and mental health awareness. So we have a podcast series that is linked on our [e-mail] we talk about a number of different topics. One podcast that I really like to share with people is our first one, which really talks about how do you even get started navigating the therapy process? Because I think it can be really confusing.

[F]

Yeah.

[D]

And convoluted for people of what kind of therapists to see in insurance. And so we try to take everyone through those initial steps to help ease that process a bit.

[C]

What's the name of the podcast?

[D]

The name of the podcast is called Unmasked, a mental health podcast. It's available on any podcast streaming site. There's a few other podcasts named Unmasked. So ours has the purple circle logo with Zamwell on it.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Purple.

[C]

Oh, we really are purple sisters of another purple.

[D]

Oh, I love that. We have a website. It's zamwell.org. on that website, we have a provider list for just local providers in the area if people need help navigating, like who.

[B]

Who.

[D]

What type of therapist do I need to see? We try to categorize it to kind of help navigate what type of providers would be helpful. We have the podcast linked on there, and we also try to do some educational series. So we just did a suicide prevention youth seminar. So teaching youth how to respond to a crisis.

[C]

I love that.

[D]

And we also do a lot of things, like we had a college and coffee events. So incoming freshmen to college the summer before they leave could kind of get some information and learn how to prepare as well as be on the lookout for signs of any kind of mental health concerns that might show up as you're transitioning. We try to offer a lot of that free programming and just encourage those conversations.

[A]

I love that.

[C]

Yeah. Well, thanks for being here today. Courtney Ward with Zamwell. Thanks for doing what you're doing. It's so important to raise awareness and to have these conversations.

[D]

I got interested in this because I'm a psychologist myself, and so I wanted something to, you know, just be able to give back and. And help the community. Thank you so much.

[A]

Okay, can we take a moment and appreciate how Courtney is giving back to the community as a psychologist, as an educator, as a podcast host? I love that they're doing their own podcasts. And again, I'm going to have all the information linked. She said there are a couple podcasts by that same name, Unmasked, so I am going to make sure to link the appropriate one. But again, just remember, Purple Girl, if you can look it up wherever you enjoy your podcast as well, look for that purple backdrop on Unmasked. Next, I want to feature the Powerhouse herself, Amber Young. Amber's been on the POD before, and if you hear me name, drop Amber throughout the remainder of the episode, it's because she has been so instrumental in helping organize Indiana's OCD consultation group, helping with this walk and just overall pushing advocacy efforts at every level. She has a heart for different intersections and really meeting people where they're at to spread awareness and resources. So let's hear more from Amber.

[C]

Amber, welcome.

[A]

Welcome.

[C]

I have been telling so many people when I look around you, Angie, Ellie, have done so much to help make this walk a reality here in Indiana. And so welcome back to the pod You've been on before, talking about sensory processing, how it can look in many different arenas. You've provided an Example what that looks like for autistic individuals. Welcome back to the pod. It's good to see you.

[D]

Thank you so much.

[G]

Thank you for having me.

[C]

Absolutely. This was such a success and I thought if we can help one person know they're not alone, it's a success. But tell me, how was your experience at the walk? Because you were so, so busy and so, so mindful and intentional about soaking in and helping. Really all of us reflect on this process and treasure that, but also just meeting and greeting all the people. How has the walk been for you this year?

[G]

Yeah, this has been a bit of a dream come true. I've been talking about a walk for our state for years now. And I'm just really grateful for everybody who's just put in their time and their effort and their heart and all sorts of energy to make this happen. It's. It was. It's just been a beautiful experience to see clinicians and people with lived experience and many of our clinicians have lived experience as well and just see the community come together. We know that we have a great community in Indiana. It's just we haven't been together in one place. So having a lot of us together in one place has just been a really beautiful experience and I hope that we can recreate this now. Actually, I look forward to it and I would love to have more experiences like this in the future.

[C]

Yeah, it's been fantastic. And what I will say is Amber does so much work in just helping collate our voices. She runs our Indiana Monthly Consultation group through OCD Midwest. And what I will say is if you're listening, and I know people are listening from all over the world, but if you're in Indiana and you're learning how to treat ocd, or you think maybe one of your clients has it, or you've been trained in exposure and response prevention, in acceptance and commitment therapy, or inference based cbt. OCD Midwest. Is that the best way to go or to your website to learn more about the consultation group? Yeah, absolutely.

[G]

So OCD Midwest holds various consultation groups in different regions. I am the leader of the Indiana Consultation Group, but we have them in different states. Michigan, Ohio, Illinois.

[C]

Yeah.

[G]

And they are free. And you don't necessarily have to be an OCD specialist. We have providers who are brand new, don't know anything about ocd, just want to learn. We have providers who pop in who are really seasoned and they just want to ask a few questions. So the best place you can either go to OCD Midwest's website and under their services, they have the consultation groups and they have contact information to reach out to the leaders in the various states. You can also reach out to me and email me in terms of how to get involved with ours. You can just email [e-mail] and we'll get you set up with the reoccurring invitation link.

[A]

I love that.

[C]

And so I'm going to put that information over on this episode's blog for Amber and for OCD Midwest, if you want to follow up there. But also what strikes me is when you're in a private practice or you get licensed, sometimes it's harder to find that consultation in general for some of those cases and be collaborative. And as awesome as it can be to have that private practice experience, sometimes you miss being able to bounce ideas off of people, ways to help. And so I love that as a resource. You and I were also talking about just how much work that you have put into really raising awareness and building relationships and getting more information out about neurodivergent affirming care and so many different spaces where it would be beneficial for people to learn, whether we're talking about medical or law or anything about ocd. And so you're doing some exciting stuff and have been working really hard. Is there anything more that you would want to share about that or. Or do you want to keep us posted?

[G]

Well, I do have, you know, several different projects in the works. It's not live on my website yet, but soon that will be reflected. Essentially, for quite a while, I've known that we have some barriers to people getting the treatment that they need, and we have some different intersection points that if we could get people information, if we could get clinicians trained in certain areas, if we could collaborate with certain different groups, people could be a lot more empowered. And so I have a lot of different projects and essentially I'm seeing fewer clients and I'm moving more into advocacy policy and systemic work, which is so needed. Yeah, thank you. Yes, my goal is starting in our state. Ideally, I would love for things to be better across the nation for people in general being able to access mental health. But the idea is to work on making mental health in general, but especially OCD access to treatment easier and remove some of those barriers for our clients and for our clinicians. And so I have a lot of different projects in the works and yeah, more information will come out.

[C]

I love that. Thanks for all you are doing to help people know they're not alone. And hey, if you're doing Work similar to Amber and you're like, hey, we don't have to reinvent wheels. Cause I got some ideas for you. Reach out. Is that okay if I say yes, please? Absolutely.

[G]

If you are somebody who has connections and abilities in terms of advocacy, policy, those types of things, I would love to hear from you. I would love to work together. Yes, please. Let's not reinvent the wheel. We don't need to do these things alone. I would love to work together. Please reach out to me at the email that I mentioned before.

[C]

All right, so we'll have all that over on this episode's blog. Thanks again. Great to see you again, Amber, and this was amazing. Thanks for all your hard work.

[G]

Thank you.

[E]

Love it.

[A]

I love it. Amber. Thank you so much. She is doing incredible work. And my sense is we are barely scratching the surface of the greatness she's going to bring to her advocacy, to the resources that will benefit our communities and beyond. So now I want to take a moment. I want to feature partners. Whether you're living together, married, in a relationship, we know there are some special challenges that come when you are dating or in a relationship with someone that has O, C D. And I was so elated to see such great representation from partners at the Indiana OCD Walk. I was like, get it, Indiana. I'm here for it. Because living with OCD doesn't only impact the individual. It touches the entire family. And I was just so moved by the conversations with Aditi and Cameron, two partners that are not only showing up, but standing by or raising awareness for their loved ones. And it was so cool. I think I even heard we'll listen for it in the interviews. But I think I even heard that maybe they have a support group that decided to join the walk together. And I was like, yes, get it, you guys. Because this is such important work. And not only is it a great resource for raising awareness for your loved one with ocd, but just knowing you're not alone as a family member, I mean, that's why we have the fam here, right? That's why we get together and chat, because it has an impact on us. And we also have to take care of ourselves. And having people that are like, I get it, I get it, is so important. So without further ado, I want to introduce you first to Aditi.

[C]

I am sitting here with Aditi, and I'm so grateful to have an opportunity to chat with you. Can you tell us what you're doing out at the OCD walk today?

[H]

Yeah, yeah, definitely. So just As a little bit of background, my partner has ocd and that's kind of how I got involved in the IOCD apps and just, you know, like, having firsthand experienced how important it is for there to be outreach. That's how I first got involved.

[A]

Yeah.

[H]

And I recently moved to Indiana and when I was moving, moving. I've been involved with the Boston OCD walk before.

[E]

Yeah.

[H]

So when I was moving here, I got in touch with Ellie and I just thought of any different ways that I could contribute.

[C]

Yes.

[H]

And one of the things that I like doing, my favorite hobby is thirsting. And one of the ways that I fundraise is just by using curated vintage pieces to fundraise.

[E]

Yes.

[H]

For the iocdf. And I thought this would be a great, like, in person way of doing that.

[C]

I love it. Yeah, I love it. So for anybody listening, it's really cool because you brought like a clothing rack. There's no wrong way to raise awareness. And when you have a partner who has ocd, you know how much that affects the relationship. And so what makes us better is people with lived experience. Absolutely. Are the people that are surrounding us and encouraging us. So I love that you're getting involved. Boston has a really great community.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Yeah, absolutely. And they've done amazing walks and things in the past as they continue to do so. We're so glad to have you here and your proactive willingness to get involved and continue the good work you're doing. Is there anything that you would want people in your situation, maybe dating, married, or in a situation where their partner is struggling with ocd, is there any kind of message that you would have for them in terms of hanging in there or having hope?

[F]

Yep.

[H]

I guess different advice is better suited for different people in, like, different stages of treatment.

[C]

That's true.

[H]

Things like that. But I think one thing that took me a really long time to understand is that even though providing reassurance feels good and, like, feels intuitive, learning how to not do that, fan the flame of OCD and how to have that not be your instinct. It's a thing that takes a lot of, I don't know, just practicing, learning not to do that. And I think that can be really challenging for people who are used to, you know, you want to comfort someone.

[B]

Yeah.

[H]

So.

[C]

Well, and the thing is, we can still comfort. But it feels, like you said, it feels so intuitive to be like, yeah, no, you're good, you're fine. Yes, we did this. No, nothing, nothing got left unlocked or whatever. The thing is. And we can still be like, you know what? You got this. I'm sorry you're hurting, but it just feels like so easy to get drawn into the content for people with lived experience, for the family members, for the partners. And so I think that's such a great point. It is hard to do. It takes practice, for sure. Well, thank you so much for stopping by, and thanks for sharing your experience and your advocacy with all of us.

[H]

Thank you.

[C]

Absolutely.

[A]

All right, Aditi. I love how she is taking different passions and interests and curating collections like she's doing through thrifting to ultimately raise awareness. In fact, the walk, the original OCD walk, came out of a gentleman, a dad, mourning and grieving the loss of his son, who had very debilitating OCD walking and going, you know what? I'm walking with a purpose. I'm going to go and I'm going to aim to talk to people about what is ocd, what does it look like? Tell them about my son's legacy. And through walking, that really was the. The channel for raising awareness. And you hear that in Aditi and what she's doing with thrifting. And I'm sure Boston's like, aditi, we miss you. But I love that she's here and has just dove in and continued her amazing work and advocacy. And when I saw the garment rack and the clothes, I was like, who do we have? I love this. This is such a creative, awesome way. It just shows there's no wrong way to raise awareness, and I love it. Also, we got to talk with Cameron as he is supporting his fiance with their lived experience of ocd.

[C]

I'm here with Cameron at the OCD walk, and I would love to know, Cameron, what brings you out to the walk today? Well, my fiance has OCD and she's been struggling with it for a couple years. So we kind of do anything we can to go out and support. So I love that. And you know what? I'm loving the representation of partners out here involved because their partner is struggling with ocd. And it really does impact the relationship.

[I]

Right.

[C]

And so to the degree that you're comfortable, do you have an example maybe for people listening, going, oh, I didn't even realize that was like an OCD thing that can show up in relationship. Would you have maybe an example without giving away from the privacy of your loved one? It's hard for her to drive.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

So our schedules have to line up perfect for her to go to therapy because we live two hours away.

[G]

Yeah.

[C]

So just any time, if you don't have OCD and your spouse does. Just be aware of it.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And comforting because that's the main thing. Right. Does their provider offer anything like telehealth or is it only an in person option? We've done through the computer.

[G]

Yeah.

[D]

But it.

[C]

It doesn't feel the same person.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

And that is. It's hard because here in Indiana. Well, in a lot of different places around the world, sometimes you get lucky enough to have a number of providers where you live. But for a lot of people, they are driving. I know people have driven to come and see me. I treat OCD as well and it helps that there's an option for telehook. But sometimes people are really like, I, I need and want to be in person. Well, we are so grateful that you came out today and I'm so glad that this event has come to Indiana so that there can be more awareness. How did you find out about the walk? Did you hear about it on the news or where did you find out about it? They have a support group at Therapeuth and I think they all just planned on coming and then that's how we went about it. Well, thank you for showing up and thanks for loving your partner and being there for them because OCD lives and thrives in the different relationships and environments. And so that's so important for our partners to have support too. And we really appreciate you coming out. Anything we can do to support the greatest. Thank you, Cameron.

[A]

Okay. I mean, you can't beat that. Real talk. These partners are the definition of love in action and I love it. Their insights are just a reminder of how important support systems are not only for our warriors, but for each other as we are supporting our warriors. So I absolutely love that. Thank you both to Aditi and Cameron. Okay, so I found some of my favorite clinicians in the wild that are treating in the state of Indiana. In fact, I found quite a few. But I'm gonna feature two now and more to come later in this episode. First with our grand marshall, y'. All. None other than Bronwyn Schroyer. Bronwyn has been on the pod with me before. She's talked about trauma. She helped me wrap my mind around metacognitive therapy, which is a transdiagnostic treatment for O, C, D, ptsd, anxiety and depression. But Bronwyn is also one of the co founders of OCD training school. And you may have noticed whether you're listening to this episode or have been just hanging out with the fam for a hot minute now I am an affiliate for OCD Training school and I'm always excited to see how their course catalog continues to grow, offering amazing trainings. Some of the newer courses that are coming in, we have Treating Emetophobia in Kids and Teens with Barb Benson, which Barb has been on the podcast. Actually she was on my very first OCRD series, season one, talking about emetophobia, which is that very debilitating fear of vomiting. And so she's done a course with OCD Training School. There's also new courses on treating co occurring eating disorders with OCD courses for BFRBs including process based therapy to treat body focused repetitive behaviors. And that's with Dr. Max Maisel. And I love Max Max, along with Amber Young who we just heard from. We're both on my sensory panel season or two ago. And so there are so many different courses. Justice Based Exposure and Response Prevention. You can learn about inference based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or icbt. There's just so many really cool courses. There's also self help courses and when you use my special link, it also supports the podcast at no extra cost to you. And so if you want to check out their amazing course catalog, you can jump over to ocdfamilypodcast.com courses, hit that link, browse their website for any of the resources and when you make a purchase via that link, you're helping the fam too. So that's Bronwyn. She is one of the co directors of the amazing OCD Training school. Also, if you've ever purchased a training that includes their resource hub, they have an online resource hub that is the business. So helpful and full of tools that I am regularly using with clients. It's so helpful. I also just want to mention for any clinicians that are in training, if you're licensed at a master's or a doctorate level, when you purchase a course on OCD training school, they are apa, NBCC and ASWB approved providers. That means your CES that we update every licensure renewal are included for the coursework. And so if you're looking for some ces, it's time to update. I know for clinicians that makes a difference when you're going for training. So what an intro, huh, Bronwyn? Bronwyn was our grand marshal this year for our first ever Indiana Walk. She also practices here in the state of Indiana and I can't wait for to tell you more about her experience. So without further ado, Bronwyn.

[J]

Hello Nicole.

[C]

You guys know Bronwyn Ronwyn is one of the co founders of OCD Training school. She is one of the lead disseminators and trainers of icbt. That's inference based CBT and she does so much powerful work. But you are here today because not only are you an Indiana homegrown person here for the OCD walk, you were our grand marshal.

[J]

I was.

[C]

So how was that? Tell me more about what this experience has been like.

[J]

You know, it's really great to see Indiana get its own walk. That is fantastic. Yeah. And it's really exciting. The IOCDF conference will be here in.

[C]

A couple years, so it feels like we're.

[J]

I did not know that either.

[C]

I was like Indy. Has it ever been in Indy?

[J]

I don't.

[C]

I don't know. For those that don't know, there was an announcement that the International OCD Conference is going to be their annual conference in Indianapolis in two years. So this year it's going to be in Seattle, which I do love Seattle, Pacific Northwest. And then it's going to be in Indianapolis.

[J]

Oh, it's fantastic. And people can come and see what Indiana is all about.

[D]

Yes.

[A]

Great.

[C]

Another really cool attribute of today's walk. And this is completely selfish on my part, but I got to meet you in person because we have talked many times virtually and been connected for a hot minute. And we also, as service providers in the state, are often checking in with each other and sharing resources and referrals. But this is the first time we've met in person.

[J]

I know I got to hug you, which was great.

[C]

I know I hugged you twice and I'm not mad about it. So being a grand marshal, have you ever done that before?

[J]

I have never been a grand marshal. I don't even know that I've worn a sash before. And Angie Henry made me a beautiful sash.

[E]

Did she?

[C]

That sounds like Angie.

[J]

I got it definitely sounds like Angie.

[C]

Angie is the sweetest and it's so wonderful to have you come and share more. We've talked about exposure and response prevention. We talked about inference based cbt. You shared a little bit of your story and it's really exciting, especially knowing that we have choices and options for treatment of ocd. Of course there's also acceptance and commitment therapy. There's rumination focused erp, justice based erp. Lots of different choices. But you are one of the main trainers really domestically here in the US for icbt. And so how does it feel to be in an IOCDF event sharing? Because I know you also are the co chair of the special interest group that IOCDF has for icbt.

[J]

Yeah, it's great to talk about all those treatment options because it's great that we all have options. But yeah, getting to talk about ICBT is always fun just because it's such a different modality and it is helping people as well. And adding in another tool is always a good thing in my mind, especially with that evidence base growing and the IOCDF not having it as part of their treatment guideline.

[C]

So it's great. Yes, that's true. Also, Brian, when you treat trauma and you're specialized in. I want to say emdr and there's probably more.

[A]

Are you.

[J]

I do CPT as well. And written exposure therapy. Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Which is the worst acronym? I'm just going to say it. It's what I say. What? I don't know if people call it W A T, but I also kind of love it for that reason.

[A]

Yeah, it's.

[J]

It's a. It's an interesting acronym to have.

[C]

I love this because we've had you on the pod before a couple different times, but talking about trauma and I love that because trauma is so important and it's important that it's treated differently than ocd, but because they can be fellow travelers together and overlap in terms of some of the triggers and distress. I love anytime people can learn. Like, yes, you can combine therapy for OCD with other treatment modalities. So I love that you're able to be here and it's just. It's so lovely to meet you in person.

[J]

No, it is really great to be here in person and to hear people's story. As I was walking around and talking to people and it's good to hear those stories and people aren't feeling so alone. Getting to see people in a crowd. And I think when you're talking about the co occurrence, it's going to be interesting to see where that all goes research wise. I mean, we know that OCD is a fellow traveler of many different things.

[C]

So many different things.

[F]

Yeah.

[C]

So it's really great.

[J]

I mean, your podcast is helping to bring awareness to that too. So thank you for that. And I feel like there's so many people out there that have not just ocd, but OCD and something people deserve to have. Treatment path.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And I'll put a link over on this episode's [e-mail] that I know Dr. Caitlin Penciotti, who does so much great research in that intersection really of OCD and trauma and has really just been working hard and you guys have worked quite a bit together at this point too, I think. She also has a course that's available through OCD training school on justice based erp. Yeah, she does a lot in the intersectionality for the LGBTQIA community as well. And like, so many of you are just powerhouses and we are just so grateful that you took some time to not only drive in and come. We all drove in basically for the block, but also to chat again with the fam. It's always good to see you. Yeah, it's good.

[J]

I'm always happy to chat with the fam.

[A]

So if you picked up that there's going to be an IOCDF conference that is the annual conference with so much learning and different tracks, not only for OCD lived experience family members, but also they've been having tracks for body focus, repetitive behaviors and body dysmorphic disorder, as well as disorders that co travel, co mingle, co wrestle with ocd. Because we know that happens. And so I loved hearing about that. And then I also have Angie. Angie is my sister of another mister, My spirit animal and my co chair for this event. Yes, I was a co chair. You'll hear us talk about this. Angie's like, don't cut this out. But we were co chairs for the event and I just had a lot of life, life this past year. So I was like, I don't think I necessarily have the spoons to help co chair this event, but she did such an amazing job. And when I looked around and you'll hear it, she, Ellie Skelton, Amber Young, they all did such amazing work. So I was technically, technically a co chair of this event, which has been humbling to me because it's so hard to take credit when you feel like you didn't really contribute that much. But I'm going to lean in. I'm going to lean into the anxiety for my exposure and response prevention friends. We know what that's like. I'm just going to lean in. I'm going to lean in and I'm going to let you hear more about Angie Angela Henry.

[I]

Am I in trouble?

[C]

You are not in trouble. You're amazing. We are at the OCD walk. And you know what? You and I went to the OCD Chicagoland walk last year.

[I]

Rainy and cold. We did.

[C]

It was an experience. It was actually really fun, though.

[I]

Yeah, it was. It was an adventure.

[C]

It was an adventure. And you were like, we are bringing this to Indiana.

[I]

When I said we, I. I met you and I and we did it. We did it.

[C]

I know you meant we. Now, a little backstory that I'm just going to tell myself because I can't. Not Angie. First of all, when I look around, I just. Your name is all over this. You did so much hard work and so much amazing coordination just to pull this off. And it was really successful. And so I first want to just say thank you.

[I]

Well, thank you. It's a team effort.

[C]

It is a team. But I'm just gonna focus on the you right now in team, which is so uncomfy and fun.

[A]

Right.

[C]

But also, you did a great job.

[A]

So thank you.

[I]

Thank you.

[C]

Thanks for all you've done. Angie is my closest neighboring OCD therapist.

[I]

Yes.

[C]

She's in the South Bend area. And we are not close. I mean, in terms of cross limited.

[I]

Season heart, but we are two hours.

[C]

We are besties in heart, but yes. We're like two hours apart. Yes. And so often you and I, even though we might get telehouse people on our waiting list from all over the state, often people are like, who's going to open first? Angie or Nicole? Where are we driving? Because they're kind of like, between us.

[I]

Yes. Because there's not a lot of providers.

[C]

And Angie also does so much awesome work and advocacy surrounding pans and pandas, around ticks, around BFRBs. I mean, I don't know what you don't do, Angie, because you're just amazing. And so how has the walk been for you today?

[I]

Oh, you know what?

[A]

It.

[I]

First of all, it's a beautiful day. It's hot. No rain. Like the walk last year in Chicago. In Chicago. So I would rather have hot, hot sun and beautiful day. So it was great. People came out with their dogs. We're right next to a dog park. So the dogs had fun, the people had fun, the kids had fun.

[C]

The location is perfect. Yeah, it's been really nice.

[I]

It was. It was just really nice to see the community come out and really support people with OCD and really encourage them and provide information. We had an engagement table where we had just information on what OCD is so that more people can be identified and get the treatment that they need sooner.

[D]

Yes.

[I]

They don't have to wait the 13 years, which is the average from the research right now. And yes, we talked a little bit, you know, during our pre walk conversation. You know, we can do better. Yes, we can do better. So this is a way that at least in Hoosierland here this weekend, that we did our job in helping raise information, raise support so that more research can be Done. And people can feel supported.

[D]

Yes.

[C]

And, Angie, you were also featured in the WRTV that was promoting the walk. And one of the things that we, as really kind of a committee that we're all working on this walk, talked about was I was really touched on how WRTV really captured the salient points of what is ocd? It's not a preference, it's not an adjective. It is a serious mental health disorder and it's a lot more common than people realize. And so that was one of, and I'm not just saying this because it was our Indiana walk, but it was one of the best promos I've seen to learn more about the psychoeducation.

[J]

Yeah.

[C]

And that really was. I was impressed with wrtv. They did a beautiful job.

[I]

It's like they understood the spirit of what they were needing to do and talk about.

[C]

But I think that also comes from you guys that participated in it, understanding the spirit of what needed to be communicated. And so Amber Young, yourself, Krista Reed, all participated in that. And what a joy to see this actually come to fruition. To meet people.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

To have them feel like they're not alone.

[I]

Absolutely. And we busted through.

[C]

Our goal.

[I]

Our goal was 3,000.

[C]

Yes.

[I]

And we are like, even before the end, we're at like 11, 5. And there was a beautiful donation by the Bill Simpson foundation and their indie based organization. And we're just so thankful that, yes, they came out and really supported OCD and the community with that donation.

[J]

Yes.

[C]

I love that. I mean, we even had, I know we had Purdue.

[I]

Did we have nd11 indie11 soccer. Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[I]

So they came out and yes.

[C]

So we had so many wonderful Indiana businesses and organizations.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Is contributing and that felt wonderful. And this location is super cute. I love the dog park right there. Well, Angie, thanks again for everything you've done. This, this walk. I just, I know you worked so hard on it and yet you work so hard on everything. It's just, it's just how you work. And so I appreciate you so much.

[I]

Thanks, Nicole. And you know, and I hope you don't edit this out that we were co chairs and I'm so glad that you helped and we were able to do this together. And so cheers to next year.

[J]

Yes.

[C]

Cheers to next year.

[A]

I love Angie. She's great. She's great. And she really is. She's my closest within reach practitioner and she's a couple hours away from me. So this is what happens when we live in more remote areas. And I'm telling you, Indiana did Not have a lot of support. Angie and I actually are byproducts of being behavioral therapy trained from IOCDF and given their BTTI designation because Indiana needed more help. They're like, y', all, y', all, we need evidence based practices stat in the Hoosier state. And so Angie is a thrill to be in the trench with you. I could not ask for a better neighbor and really not just colleague, but friend. So thank you so much, Angie, for being you. Okay, that brings us to Ellie. Ellie is our outreach chair for OCD Midwest. She sits on the board, and she helped spearhead this walk. And honestly, I just have to say I think she captured the heart of it perfectly here.

[C]

Well, good to see you, Ellie. I feel like we're really getting to know each other. I love it.

[I]

Yeah.

[C]

Anybody that may be tuned into the OCD Chicagoland walk episode we did during season three got to know Ellie, and we're gonna re familiarize ourselves right now. But Ellie is also on the board for OCD Midwest. Yeah.

[E]

Yes.

[C]

What's your official position, Ellie? I should know that.

[B]

Good.

[E]

It's Chair of Outreach and connection.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[E]

Obviously you have a lot of outreach within the four states that we have. What are the gaps? What are we seeing? What are we excited about? What do we need? AKA walks in Indiana, walks in Michigan.

[C]

You know what I'm realizing, Ellie? I'm going to totally, like, out myself here. But at dinner last night.

[I]

Yeah.

[C]

I was like, amber, you should be the chair of Walks in Connection, because I didn't realize that was a real position, even though that's your position. And she and Ellie was like, oh, yeah, she's great at it. Not going like Bishop.

[A]

That's my rule.

[C]

No, you are gracious, but okay, Ellie, that is the official position. What I will say is Ellie has been instrumental in helping bring this walk. Like you, Angie and Amber, it takes a team.

[E]

And you as well. Right. Everybody that's pitched in, it takes a team.

[C]

I have pitched in, and I'm not shading that, but I. With the bandwidth of life.

[E]

Sure.

[C]

You guys absolutely rose to the challenge. And you guys just had your Chicago walk a couple weeks ago, and. And then we had the very first Michigan walk as well, which I think you went and attended, right?

[E]

Yes. So I was helping to lead the front for the Indiana and the Michigan ones was their first ever ones.

[G]

Yeah.

[E]

And so I wanted to make sure. Right. Everything is incongruent with what we need to do with iocdf. You know, some of the things that you just don't know, unless you've been to several walks of what do we need? How do we fundraise? But I mean, really, it's the team, right? And so it's the. It's the boots on the ground kind of sort of speak, which is you all in the community.

[C]

So thankful for that since you've been now at at least three different statewalks. Which one's the best? No, I'm kidding.

[E]

This is the thing.

[C]

They're all great in their own way.

[E]

They're all great in their own way. They all have a different flavor. And each one that I walk away from, I just get a rejuvenation of compassion, passion for our community, and such a really great sense of hope. Just meeting the people from lived experience, from support from clinician. If I can say this on here, we. We're badass and we are supposed to be reckoned with.

[J]

Please.

[E]

And everybody is so talented.

[C]

And.

[E]

Yeah, so I just leave all. Maybe it's silly to say, but literally all the warm and fuzzies.

[B]

Right.

[E]

It's a lot of work, it's a lot of coordination. But in the day, it's worth it because we get to see the fruits of our labor. And when I say it's a team, it. It has to be a team. There's nothing, one person that does it all. And so I'm so thankful for the amazing people here in Indiana. Well, and for being so welcoming to me, which I. I feel like an outsider, even though Indiana is a state that we practice in. But still, you're not an outsider.

[C]

You're part of the nucleus.

[A]

Oh, I love it.

[C]

You are. You are OCD honorary.

[E]

Indeed.

[C]

No, seriously, when I think of this walk, I'm like, oh, my gosh, your name is all over it. Ange's name is all over it, and Amber's name is all over it. And so I'm just super proud of being part of the team. And that's what's great about a team too. Like when life is lifing and things get busy, not having to do it alone.

[B]

Absolutely.

[E]

So important.

[C]

And isn't that the greater message for ocd?

[E]

It absolutely is.

[C]

It sure is. Cross stitch that on a pillow.

[E]

It's. It's shared responsibility, you know, and each walk has their own different flavor. I've yet to go to Ohio. That's my goal for next year. But everybody can do whatever they want, whatever the community sees as valuable. And that's what's so cool about it.

[C]

I love that.

[E]

And it's a safe space. Like In Michigan, someone. I was talking to some people after the walk, and someone was kind of hesitant to speak, and he just pauses. He goes, wait, this is a safe space. I have a huge fear flying. That's why I haven't gone to any of the conferences, because I got to take the train. That was my first time being able to get to go. We're talking very vulnerably with an amazing donor here and someone who's lived experience on the challenges of getting care. But the fact that they're here and this was the biggest exposure, probably not the biggest for them. Right? Maybe in general, but the biggest of the day, I think, is what they said, like, that's pretty badass.

[C]

I love it. Yes. I think about it. I was doing face painting here at the Wok, and even for people being touched, contamination things or people were getting different, we encourage people to pick if they're doing exposure and response prevention, maybe something they're scared of that they would be willing to face. And, you know, it's just. It's really cool to see people feel brave and empowered and know that they can do it. I think it's so important that the message is that people know they can live their lives. That OCD doesn't have to be the boss of it. And you can.

[A]

You're not alone.

[C]

You can be in community. You can absolutely fight together, and you aren't alone. There is. It is so prevalent, and there's still so much work and awareness to be raised. But this has really helped, and I appreciate everything you've done.

[E]

Coming to you.

[C]

What the Hanks things. You know, we do it. We do our thing. So thank you. Appreciate you being here. And I loved having dinner. Yes, that was fun. We had a great dinner. And I think that was one of my highlights of angry, really.

[E]

Ty and I both went home. We were like, I'm so glad we did that. Just the vibe hits a little bit differently when we're in person. We're following different jokes, which tangential in the best way possible. That's right. So we need to do more of these and I think even more to speak to. Can we get OCD Midwest to do more in person? Little happy hours, little coffee, greets family events.

[A]

Yeah.

[E]

And yes. The answer is yes.

[C]

That's mean on ice. I mean, I would love that. I would love that. I had to sneak it in. You had to sneak it in?

[B]

Yes.

[C]

We have people that are like, that doesn't make sense. And maybe even sounds gross. I'm just gonna let you hang in the curiosity. I love this.

[E]

Let it hang.

[C]

That's right.

[E]

See if there's any comments or questions that pop up from.

[C]

Yeah, nice. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll hold that space for you.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

Well, thanks, Allie. It was so good to see you.

[E]

Thanks for having me.

[A]

I was so appreciative that Ellie came over from the Chicagoland area. She is native to the Chicago area. I will post links to her practice. But she also came over with another Chicagoland provider, and that is my dear friend, Madison. But Madison is not only a friend, she also is an influencer on Instagram that provides so much great advocacy and awareness about exposure and response prevention, about inference based CBT and about hope. From a lived, experienced warrior to a professional that is making such dynamic change and bringing hope and healing to so many people living with ocd. It is a pleasure to have Madison back. Hey, Madison, you probably know her as.

[C]

Obsessively strong and she also runs social media for her counseling group in Chicago, which remind me of the handle at Chicago Counseling Center.

[G]

Yeah, super easy.

[C]

Yes, yes. Okay, check it out.

[A]

What?

[J]

What?

[C]

And so, Madison, you've been on the podcast you were on with Angie talking about the conference recap. We did your walk last year and you guys just did it a couple weeks ago. We did, yes. In Chicago, which is what really kind of inspired this. It was raining, but it actually was really fun. It was really fun. And so I give you all the flowers for coming all the way to Indiana here. Tell me, how do you think the walk went today?

[B]

I thought it was really, really good, especially being a first time like walk for Indiana. It was a wonderful turnout. The location is beautiful. And again, all the clinicians that cared so deeply, volunteering to create this, to fund it, to do all those wonderful things. It ended up being a really, really wonderful experience for the people that were there. And me especially as another Midwesterner, we love that. The Midwest walks are amazing.

[C]

Yes. And also we had a little committee dinner last night with much of us that were working and that was really love have some conversations. But really the idea of it with Ellie, with Angie, with Amber, yourself was born in last year's Chicago walk. And now this is the first one in Indiana. Michigan also had their first walk this year. Ohio's had a lot of established walks, Illinois has established walks. But it's really exciting to see OCD Midwest expand. And so what are you hoping to see in terms of these walks or just. Just an ability to get together and meet other people with lived experience?

[B]

Honestly, I think more connection. What happened last year is the hope that I have for most walks, right, like you guys just came kind of to support me and get like, you know, just be in my neighborhood, my neck of the woods. And that landed into you guys meeting Ellie, which ended up getting a good conversation going about walks here, walks in Michigan. And I think that's what's beautiful about the OCD community. Every clinician and OCD clients and people generally are just so kind, opening, warm, even though OCD doesn't tell us we are, they're so kind, warm. And I think that creates this beautiful community where we're all looking to expand and connect and create more meaningful spaces for that. And that's exactly what happened last year. So continuing walks, I want that continued connection and networking and growth to continue to get more advocacy for ocd.

[C]

I love that. And you really, I've told you many times, you really have been on the forefront since you were a graduate student, getting involved, learning. You've been on the pod, talking about your lived experience and you talk a lot about it on ad Obsessively strong, where you talk about out and do a lot of advocacy for OCD treatment awareness. You talk about exposure and response, prevention and inference based CBT and so many different things. And so for you, I look at you and I go, oh my gosh, the future of our field is so lucky because when we have folks such as yourself diving in and know so much, I'm like, gosh, I wish I knew what you know now even you know at this time. And you have have your whole life ahead of you still. I just want to say thank you for all the advocacy and awareness you raised. We were talking last night about all the amazing work that your Instagram account and awareness brings. So I'm going to put for Madison's influencer information on OCD and more over on this episode's blog, OCD Family Podcast. But anything else you would want to share before you go.

[B]

That was a very, very kind thing for you to say. You are kind of on this and I appreciate that.

[C]

And I, I, I agree.

[B]

I've done a lot and I am, I'm proud of myself for those things. But I also want to mention I wouldn't be at this space unless I had other clinicians that were willing to provide me that education and give me the resources. And the community, especially with clinicians too, are just so incredibly kind, like giving stuff away for free, especially when I was in grad school. So much so it's like I couldn't have maybe had all this knowledge or continued growth, and I want to continue to learn, but I wouldn't have had all that without you guys either. So give yourself credit to you, Nicole, Bronwyn, Angie, all y', all, you're sweet.

[C]

And what I will say is if you're ever sitting there, you know, if you're listening or if you're looking at Madison's Instagram or anything like that, and you're like, do they even see my messages? Do they care? Like, we met even, and you've talked about this on the pod before, but we met because you reached out and you're like, I'm learning this. Thank you for that. And it started a conversation. And so it's really, really cool how this community, as we grow in learning and awareness, are getting to know each other, and we can build genuine friendships and sisterhood and warriorhood together as lived experience or even as treatment providers. And so, yeah, it's so awesome to have you here in the Hoosierland. I felt like it was a given, Ang. Didn't it feel like a given that we were going to go to Chicago? But you coming to Indiana, I was like, we're so lucky. Oh, my gosh, we got all these Chicago people.

[B]

Okay, but think about it, too. Like, when I. This is crazy. In my mind, when I think about it, like, I messaged you, like, two years ago. We didn't know each other, and last night we shared a hotel room.

[F]

Like, what?

[C]

Yeah.

[E]

That's insane.

[C]

We also could have gotten into a sketchy situation in an Airbnb downtown.

[B]

I don't know Indiana very well.

[C]

I want to hear this story. Yeah, we'll fill you in later on that one, Angie.

[B]

Good exposure, though, maybe. Yes.

[C]

I was like, we will die tonight. So then we stayed in a hotel, and it was great. They had free breakfast. We stayed there with some high school team.

[E]

It was great.

[C]

They were very respectful kids. It was very sunny.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

But just.

[B]

That's insane to me that, like, two years ago we didn't know each other and, like, just a simple message led to so much connection for me as a lived experience person, because I wasn't treating it when I first met you. Now, obviously, having gone through finish grad school now treating ocd. But that's just crazy that it was just something that I was like, I like your stuff. Let's connect. And now we're friends.

[C]

Well, and the thing about it is, you feel so alone as a person with lived experience. Then you learn what OCD is, and you're like, oh, my Gosh, who doesn't have ocd? It seems. It feels like. And then you're like, but why don't I know anybody then? And so to be able to build genuine relationships, that's what the OCD walks all about. That's what advocacy is all about. That's where expanding this knowledge grows out.

[A]

Not just goes, but grows.

[C]

And so I'm so thankful for you making the trip. And, yeah, so good to see you.

[B]

You asked why I come. That's why you guys, the friendships, the.

[C]

Community, we're going to have to have a Kumbaya, hug it out moment.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

She's great. And we were roomies. That was very fun. And I kind of alluded to it a little bit. I'll just tell you, with all this Internet stuff and trying to get life on the rails, because it just felt like everything is just breaking down here. Madison was so sweet to be like, you know what? I'm going to book us an Airbnb. She's from the Chicag area.

[C]

I was like, way to lead, Madison.

[A]

Thank you so much. But when I first looked at the listing, I thought, I don't know, this might be a little shady area. Any of us folks that have grown up in bigger cities are like, you understand, different blocks, different zoning areas, and you can have, like, a really cool block and then, like, around the corner, it can be kind of sketch, and then, like, another block down. It's great. And so when I looked at it.

[C]

I was like, I don't know how.

[A]

That'S gonna go, but I went there and I went there and, you know, very quickly. Just trusted myself from an I CBT perspective. I trusted myself and I was like, we're gonna die if we stay here. I mean, it was just. There was some activity afoot even as I pulled up to the Airbnb, and I was like, yeah, nope, I think we're just gonna stay at a hotel tonight. So, overall, Indianapolis is a very safe city. Although we just had at the same time, during the same weekend, which was in a very nice part of downtown. If you've ever been to downtown Indianapolis, it's actually like a really clean city. It's really. Overall, it's a really nice city, especially for a bigger city, capital city, downtown. But that same weekend that this walk was going on, and actually that same evening that I was driving to the Airbnb, which was not far from this hotel, actually, we had this incident with Mark Sanchez, which, if you know who he is, former football player, commentator, got in a knife fight with A stranger. Big old mess. Big old mess happened in Indianapolis. And so it's kind of wild. And it's like my world's colliding because I went to grad school and lived for many, many years out in Los Angeles. And he used to play for usc, which is the University of Southern California. It's just, like, wild. So I'm like, wow. We were almost blocks away hours before Mark Sanchez had his incident. Completely unrelated.

[C]

But I am, you know, I'm here for the irony of it.

[A]

And so anyway, we. We got a hotel that was closer to where we had dinner. We had a wonderful dinner with the board, and it was. It was a lovely time to come together with the Walk committee. And so, Madison, thank you so much.

[C]

For being my roomie, but even more.

[A]

So, thank you for being my friend. Also, we had Jessica Hood at the Walk. Jessica is a name that I've seen around for years, you guys, because she's done so much to bring together Hoosier therapist, Indiana therapist, and I've seen her in my local northern Indiana mental health groups. I've seen her in the state of Indiana OCD group. I've now had the pleasure of meeting her in person and seeing the great work that she's doing with indie therapists.

[C]

I am sitting with the one, the only, Jessica Hood. Welcome to the pod. You are busy, busy.

[J]

I am.

[C]

I would love for you to share about your experience treating OCD here and what it means to have the OCD walk now.

[F]

Yeah, I mean, when I started treating ocd, there were about four or five known providers that I could find to treat ocd, which is why I started treating ocd, because I had a client who needed it and same. And like, I couldn't find somebody who knew what to do, really, that wasn't on a wait list. And I took it and then I got on the BTTI wait list and they were like, we have an opening in like, three days and o' Connor walk. Do you want to go? And I was like, sure. Because it's like a 500 person wait list. And you had an opening and it was for the pediatric one.

[D]

And I was like, yes.

[C]

Was it during COVID No, it was before COVID Okay. Because I had a similar thing where they, like, suddenly open. I don't know how they found me, actually, but yeah, no, like, well, I.

[F]

Applied and like, the next day they were like, we haven'.

[C]

Opening this coming weekend. Do you want to come?

[F]

And I'm like, okay. And I think, you know, my. My passion or my mission. Really is our business mission statement, which is excellent and effective clinical care for children and their families. And families weren't getting that for ocd. And so then it became we're actually doing harm. Right? Like by not educating people, by not knowing that, like as therapists, as not knowing that erp, we are actively harming people. Because it is, is taking so long for people to get treatment and, and get accurate treatment. And so then I ended up with like 30 people. Wait list. Yeah, for like a year and a half. And I was like, I can't do this. And I was in a mastermind group and they were like, well, you should do a training. And I was like, but there's already trainings. And they're like, well, people want like.

[C]

An in person training.

[F]

And I was like, okay, guess I'll do it.

[D]

And.

[C]

And now you're like Miss Indiana when it comes to training. And now like you're the CD lady. And I'm like, okay, I guess I am.

[F]

But no, I mean, I think it is just being able to get people access to care.

[G]

Right.

[F]

Because we, you know, what I always say is if that statistic is correct, if on average it takes people 10 to 12 years or 13 or 40, it doesn't even matter, right?

[D]

Yeah.

[F]

If it takes on average people, that means there's people less than people more. But that means that regardless, kids aren't getting bright help when they're kids. Kids, they're. It's not until they're adults that they're getting help. And like, people shouldn't have to suffer for a decade before they get therapy.

[G]

Right.

[F]

That that helps them. And like kids shouldn't lose their entire childhood to ocd. And so I think that, that it's more like I want people to get the care that they need. That's fueling my loudness about OCD and like trying to perpetuate. Let's actually get people trained and know what they're doing.

[C]

Absolutely. And just aware or even if you don't know what you're doing now, know what you're equipped to do and how to refer to somebody that can. Because not everybody has to treat ocd, but we need to be able to flag ocd, clock OCD and get people to evidence based care. I interviewed Amber Young and one of the things we were talking about recently was just like, yeah, you can't fish for everyone. You got to teach people how to fish. That there's natural spaces where we just need to help people learn more. Because you can't be the therapist for all OCD patients or clients in the state. And so what you're doing is really important. And you probably also were like, I didn't ask to leave this battalion. I just happened to be one of the only people doing it.

[F]

No, I just happened to be a very loud human.

[A]

And so it.

[C]

It worked.

[F]

But yeah. And I mean, I've done like one hour trainings too. Like, what is OCD and what is the treatment for it?

[G]

Yeah.

[F]

Even for people who don't want to treat OCD to just recognize that it's not just lining people up and I washing my hands because of dirty doorknobs, like, that's that. I mean, that is.

[C]

It can include that it has to function as ocd.

[G]

Right.

[C]

And it also. There's so much more to it. That's a surface level compulsion that people don't understand the underlying intrusive thoughts or doubts that are leading to that.

[A]

So.

[C]

Absolutely. And one of the things, you and I, we talked a little bit earlier in this walk time together. I was introducing myself to you and I was just like, yeah, sometimes we don't have the bandwidth. It's not like we signed up to be the person to be the sole provider to bring information, but we're passionate about people learning the information. And so we want more people to understand. And that's what's beautiful about seeing something like this walk come together and people be excited. I thought the turnout was amazing.

[F]

It was great, especially for a first walk. And I think, again, the more we can bring education to OCD and what it is and help people not feel alone and really just instill hope that there's the ability to get better. Yeah, right. Like, I always phrase it to my clients, like, my job is not to get rid of OCD or whatever. Like, my job is to help you live the life you want to live the way you want to live it.

[G]

Right.

[C]

Not the way OCD bosses and says, you maybe can't live possibly outside of this. What if? Yeah, absolutely.

[A]

Well, I love it.

[C]

You're doing great work. Thanks for the great work you're doing. And if you're listening and you're like, you know what? I want to get more involved and I. I have some different skills that I can add in. Jump in, y'.

[F]

All.

[C]

There are Facebook groups for the Indiana OCD providers, these walks. Now that we have this established.

[A]

I heard.

[C]

Did you guys hear? I didn't know. Two years from now, Indy is going to be the host city for the International OCD Conference. I'm here for It. Well, it was wonderful talking with you. Thank you so much for your time, Jessica, and thank you for all you do.

[E]

Absolutely.

[A]

Thank you so much. Jessica Hood. She's like, you know what? I didn't necessarily sign up to lead.

[C]

I just learned.

[A]

And I was like, I have to share what I know. And I think, think so many of us that are at this walk, whether we are professionals and mental health providers or family members or lived experience warriors, were like, hey, people need to know more. They get to know more. And so it was such a pleasure to be with everybody this past weekend. It was such a treat. And with that, I'm going to end on this note with the sweet family that I had an opportunity to talk with. I got to speak with Joelle and her mom, and her little sister was there. She was just like, I'm here. That's what I consent to being here. Just here. But she came out for support. I loved that. And Joelle's dad even gave us a few thoughts right at the end there. And so I wanted to end with this because we are the OCD family podcast, and it was such a treasure to see this family out together. And I think Alyssa, Joelle's mom. Mom, put it best. So let's hear from Joelle and her family.

[C]

My name's Joelle, and I'm six.

[A]

Six years old.

[C]

Is this your first time coming to an OCD walk? Yep. Yeah. Did you have fun? Yes. She nodded. Yes. For all of you that are like, oh, I'm on this cutie spaded breath, and I got to face paint you, you have a butterfly. That is very cool. It's coming on my fingers. Oh, it is coming on your fingers. It's hot today, huh? But you know what? It comes off real easily, too. Isn't that nice? So you can enjoy it and then.

[G]

You can take it off.

[C]

So, Joelle, what brings you to the OCD walk today? My mom. Your mom, and you. I love that. And mom's Alyssa.

[A]

Well, so, so good to have.

[C]

And you guys are from Freely Living. Freely Living in anxiety therapy. Okay, I got you Freely Living. And are you guys based here in the Zionsville area? I'm in Greenwood.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

I love Greenwood. Still in the central Indiana around the Indianapolis area. And so how was the walk for you today? What did you think? Yeah, I thought it was really great. I was very impressed by the turnout.

[I]

There was a good number of people.

[C]

Here, and everyone was kind of exploring everything.

[F]

And good group walking that loop.

[C]

Yes, yes. It's all so empowering when we know we're not alone. Right, Joelle? Joelle's. She's like, I'm with you. We're now communicating through vibes, and I'm here for it. Yeah, I think just seeing everybody here and knowing that everyone could come together today and be in one place from all over Indiana, it was really cool to see. See, I agree, dad. Anything you want to say? Yeah, I think it was a great experience seeing everybody coming together, walking for a cause and yeah, a beautiful day as well. So that always helps. And it was a good time. I love it. Well, we're better together and I thank you guys for coming out. It fills my heart. She's like, I am done.

[A]

I.

[C]

It fills my heart with joy, though, to see families out because we expect experience everything in the family and we're like the biggest cheerleaders for each other. So thanks for being here. Thanks for helping everybody know we're not alone and love having you guys at the wall. Thanks for having me. Thanks, guys.

[J]

Yeah.

[A]

All right, so what a wonderful time of community and what a wonderful way to kick off season four of OCD Family Podcast. I'm going to give you some final thoughts. Usually I do an intrusive thought that segment, but right now, as we wrap this up, I'm just going to encourage you to reflect on community. There's so many different aspects. Right. And look around because we have each other and that is amazing. We got this. Thank you for joining me and our OCD Family Community. If you enjoyed what you heard today, please like and subscribe to the OCD Family Podcast wherever you enjoy your podcasts. Did you find this content helpful? Please consider leaving a review. The more people that know they're not alone, the better. For more information regarding today's podcast, please visit OCD family podcast.com and remember to join the email list while you're there. It will provide you with the most up to date information, resources and the down low on the family chatter. Oh yeah, nothing says family like community and me chatting with the family. That's right, I went there. And you can too. @ OCD Family Podcast.com Therapists ready to shape the future of pediatric OCD treatment. Join the Next Steps in Pediatric OCD on Demand course from Angela Adamson Springer LCSW and learn how to adapt inference based cognitive behavioral therapy for kids. With research still emerging, this course empowers you to explore new methods and contribute to the growing field of evidence based practices. With OCD Training School's 365 day access for on demand courses, you'll gain practical tools to help kids by adapting ICBT's signature 12 modules to be as creative as the kiddos you're treating. So sign [e-mail] courses to support the podcast at no extra cost and support further growth and hope for our youngest of warriors.