2007 News

      Talks held in 2007...

  Topic: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the Family
  Date/Time: Wednesday 7th March 2007, 7.00pm - 8.30pm
  Location: Main Lecture Theater, St Patricks Hospital, James Street,
  Dublin 2
  Lecturer: Dr Michael McDonough, MRCPI, MRCPSYCH, Consultant
  Psychiatrist and BABCP accredited Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist.
  Click here to download a flyer for this event

  Topic: An Introduction and Overview of OCD - A Psychiatric Perspective
  Date: Thursday 27th September 2007
  Time: 6.30 - 8.00pm
  Location: Main Lecture Theater, St Patricks Hospital, James Street, D2
  Lecturer: Dr Jim Lucey, MD, MrcPsych, PhD, Consultant Psychiatrist,
  Director of the Anxiety Disorders programme, St. Patrick's Hospital.
  Click here (.doc) or here (.pdf) to download a flyer for this event

  Topic: An Introduction to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for the
  Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
  Date: Wednesday 24th October 2007
  Time: 7.00 - 8.30pm
  Location: Main Lecture Theater, St Patricks Hospital, James Street, D2
  Lecturer: Fionnula MacLiam, B.A.,RGN,RMN,PGDipPsych,RegPsychol(PsSI)
  Click here (.doc) to download a flyer for this event

  Topic: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the Family
  Date: Wednesday 28th November 2007
  Time: 7.00 - 8.30pm
  Location: Main Lecture Theater, St Patricks Hospital, James Street, D2
  Lecturer: Dr Michael McDonough, MRCPI, MRCPSYCH, Consultant
  Psychiatrist & BABCP accredited Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist.
  Click here (.doc) to download a flyer for this event

      OCD on the Late Late Show...

  This weeks Late Late Show will have a special feature on OCD. The
  Late Late Show is screened on RTÉ One, Friday, at 9.30pm (20/04.07).
  The RTE Late Late show website can be found here.

      Polish OCD website...

A friend from Poland has been in touch with OCD Ireland to tell us about an OCD site he administers. The site can be found at http://www.zok.net.pl

      How the Brain Rewires Itself...

Could thinking about thoughts in a new way affect not only such pathological brain states as OCD and depression but also normal activity? To find out, neuroscientist Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsin at Madison turned to Buddhist monks, the Olympic athletes of mental training...more

      Gene Triggers OCD-Like Syndrome in Mice...

Using genetic engineering, researchers have created an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) — like set of behaviors in mice and reversed them with antidepressants and genetic targeting of a key brain circuit. The study, by National Institutes of Health (NIH) — funded researchers, suggests new strategies for treating the disorder...more

      When worry hijacks the brain...

An article recently appeared in American Time Magazine (so not the version we have over here in Ireland!) covering obsessive-compulsive disorder and treatments that are used to combat OCD....more

      Information Centre...

St Patricks Hospital have opened a new Information Centre, where you can purchase OCD related literature. The opening hours are 9am to 5pm. St Patricks Hospital is located on James Street in Dublin 2.

  Please visit the Irish Council of Psychotherapy website to view a list of
  CBT therapists in Ireland. Go to Find a therapist. Choose the County you
  want & set Member to CBT & click Search. A list of accredited therapists
  in Ireland and Britain can also be found on the BABCP website.

  You will be pleased to know that we recently updated the website with a
  signiticant amount of information on Body Dysmorphic Disorder. You
  will find this information in the 'BDD: The Facts' page,
  the 'Medication' page, the 'Family/Friends' page, and the 'CBT' Page.

      OCD on Radio 1...

  Leslie Shoemaker recently discussed OCD on RTE radio 1's 'Mind
  Matters' programme. Professor Paul Salkovskis also took part.
  The full show can be listened to on the Radio 1 'Mind Matters' website.
  A podcast feed of the show is also available here.

      Families often struggle to accept OCD...

The families of people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) often struggle to accept the diagnosis, which can lead to a worsening of symptoms in the person affected, a leading counselling psychologist has warned...more

A guide for parents of children with ocd
A brochure for young people that gives information about ocd
A guide for patients and families
Information for family and friends (OCD UK)
Information about carers/friends/family

      BDD in the media...

Annette O'Meara has written a feature for the Daily Star on BDD. This article is due to be published in the Tuesday 27th March edition.

      OCD and families...

Research has shown that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) effects 2-3% of the population. The World Health Organisation (WHO) lists OCD as one of the top 10 debilitating disorders in terms of the decreased quality of life and loss of income. Still, the one group who often remains hidden are the family members and friends of the OCD sufferer because OCD not only affects the sufferer but also the lives of the whole family.

The family often has a difficult time accepting the fact that the child, parent or sibling with OCD cannot stop the distressing, repetitive and occasionally unusual behaviour. Sometimes family members may even struggle with accepting the diagnosis of OCD and live in hope that the disorder will resolve itself. On occasion family members may show their anger, frustration and resentment about the OCD and unfortunately this can result in an increase in the sufferer’s OCD behaviour. In other cases, in order to keep the peace within the family unit, members of the family may assist the OCD sufferer with the rituals or give constant reassurance. This “assisting“ is commonly referred to as collusion, but unfortunately in the long run it only feeds the disorder and in fact may worsen the sufferer’s condition. Sadly in some cases, the sufferer may resist the appropriate diagnosis and treatment, creating a difficult situation for the carer/concerned family member or friend with respect to what appropriate course of action they should take, one that is both sensitive and respectful of their loved one.

Education about OCD and its treatment for the family is of crucial importance because it enables families to make more informed choices about how to help the family member who is sufferer as well as themselves. With assistance, families can learn specific ways to encourage the person with OCD to stay with his/her behaviour therapy program and/or medication. Also, self-help books are often an excellent source of information, and some families even choose to seek the help of a family therapist who is trained in the field of OCD in order to learn methods for providing supportive help.

It is through our next public next talk that OCD Ireland hopes to address some of the difficulties regarding self-care of the OCD sufferer as well as his/her family. Also, it is through this information talk that family members will learn more about OCD and its treatment, thus enabling them to gain an understanding of the concerning behaviour of their loved one.

Irishhealth.com recently published an article written by Deborah Condon on how families often struggle to accept OCD. The article can be viewed online here.

      BDD in the media...

The Irish Examiner Health Supplement will feature an article on cosmetic surgery that will also discuss Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). This article is due to appear in the paper this Friday (26/1/07) but it may be the following week! The health supplement comes out every Friday.

Our very own Leslie Shoemaker guested on the Gerry Ryan Show on Tuesday February 6th at 10am to talk about BDD. The full interview is still available to listen to online here.

      BDD and Trichotillomania on RTE...

RTE are currently looking for someone who would be willing to talk about their BDD or Trichotillomania for the 6pm news (a 2 minute segment). The interview would be handled with the upmost sensitivity and, if needed, RTE are willing to disguise the person’s identity. If anybody is interested in this please contact us at the email address at the bottom of the links section on the left.

      Sharing experiences...

OCD Ireland are frequently asked by TV and Radio presenters and journalists for people who might be interested in speaking to the media (print, radio and tv) about their experiences with OCD, BDD or Trichotillomania. Any such contact with the media would be handled with the upmost sensitivity and would be on an individuals own terms. If anybody is interested in this please feel free to contact us at the email address at the bottom of the links section on the left.