Zoe

We are pleased to announce that we will be in Derby on Tuesday 4th October (2 weeks today) delivering a workshop specifically for parents of children in CAMHS ages (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, which are ages 5-18) with OCD. The workshop will cover the following: What is OCD How OCD is treated Pathways to access treatment What parents can do to help The delivering of this workshop will send parents away better educated, informed and empowered to understand their child’s OCD. The project is funded for parents with children aged 5-18 (CAMHS age) suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. To read more, or to book, visit here; www.ocduk.org/events/parents-derby-october/ If Derby isn't the right location, or if you can't make this date, you can find other locations/dates here: www.ocduk.org/parents/

Hi all! We are pleased to confirm that we have a new location for our Parent Workshop, Belper! The National Lottery Community Fund has funded us to deliver full day, free of charge workshops to parents who have children (between 5-18) suffering because of OCD (or suspected OCD). Here is a list of the different locations which are available for bookings: Belper - Wednesday 11th May 2022 10am - 5.30pm (open for bookings, click here for information to to book a space) Grantham - Friday 20th May 2022 10am - 5pm (open for bookings, click here for information/to book a space) Our Leicester workshop is fully booked however, if you would like to be added to the cancellation list please email; parents@ocduk.org We will be adding more dates and locations throughout the year, and we will post on our social media platforms when they are open for bookings. For more information on our parents project or the workshops we are delivering, please visit here; www.ocduk.org/parents/ (you can also book on to the workshops using this link) If you have any questions about the workshops, please do not hesitate to contact me at parents@ocduk.org Zoë Children, Young People & Parent Lead

Hello everyone, We are pleased to confirm new dates and locations for our parent workshops. The National Lottery Community Fund has funded us to deliver full day, free of charge workshops to parents who have children (between 5-18) suffering because of OCD (or suspected OCD). Here is a list of the new date and locations: Derby - Friday 18th February 9am - 5pm (fully booked, please email parents@ocduk.org if you would like to be on the cancellation list) Buxton - Saturday 19th March 9.30am - 5pm (fully booked, please email parents@ocduk.org if you would like to be on the cancellation list) Leicester - Friday 22nd April 10am - 5pm (open for bookings, click here for information/to book a space) Grantham - Friday 20th May 10am - 5pm (open for bookings, click here for information/to book a space) Nottingham - Friday 17th June 10am - 5pm (date TBC, not open for bookings yet) Northampton - Friday 29th July 10am - 5pm (date TBC, not open for bookings yet) We will post on our social media platforms once the Nottingham & Northampton workshops are open for bookings and the dates are confirmed. For more information on our parents project or the workshops we are delivering, please visit here; www.ocduk.org/parents/ (you can also book on to the workshops using this link) If you have any questions about the workshops, please do not hesitate to contact me at parents@ocduk.org Zoë Children, Young People & Parent Lead

Hello everyone! We are delighted to announce that we are hosting a parent workshop for parents of children between the ages of 5-18 with OCD. Our first workshop will take place in Nottingham on Friday 5th November 2021! Throughout 2022, we will be continuing to host these workshops at various place across the East Midlands. We have designed this workshop to be COVID safe, to ensure that those who are vulnerable to COVID-19 feel comfortable throughout the day. The host and co-host will take a lateral flow COVID-19 test a couple of days prior to the event, as well as providing disposable face masks should anyone wish to use one. Upon entry, there will be complimentary hand sanitiser available, as well as on the table(s). If you have any questions about COVID-19 and our parents’ workshops, please email parents@ocduk.org where we will be happy to answer any questions you may have. We are offering parents the opportunity to attend a FREE full day workshop to help them understand OCD in an informative education programme whilst waiting for treatment to begin. The workshop will include education on the following: What is OCD How OCD is treated Pathways to access treatment What parents can do to help Please note that the project hosts are not professionals and will not be offering therapeutic advice. The project is hosted by service users who have an in depth understanding of OCD, and the aim of this workshop is to offer relevant and helpful information to restore hope for a recovery focused future. The project is funded for parents with children aged 5-18 (CAMHS age) suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder For more information or to book, visit here; https://www.ocduk.org/events/nottingham-parents2021/

Hi Jayne, I thought I would reply to you because I do have experience in this. I suffered with OCD during B-Tec art a few years ago now, and you are right, there is quite a bit of coursework. I do not regret taking this subject at all, because I loved it, and I still do love art. And the thing is, no matter what I studied at this time, OCD was something I was having to fight. And fighting OCD whilst studying for something you love is much better than fighting OCD whilst studying something you have chosen because of OCD. My personal advice would be not to let OCD dictate which subject to go for, and to go for the subject which she most enjoys. It is also good that she knows she has OCD, it means she will have all the help, guidance and support that she may need during studying (including people to talk to at school, us here at OCD-UK and NHS services). She will never be alone in it. Once your daughter has kicked the OCD bully out of the door, and finds herself on a steady path in recovery, she will be pleased that she chose the subjects she wanted to do the most. Best Wishes Zoe

We have a new competition for the chance to win a free eBook by Lauren Callaghan! Here is some more information: ️ Prize Draw Giveaway ️ We have some exciting news for you all! The wonderful Psychologist, Author and CBT Therapist Lauren Callaghan @compassionatepsychologist is working in collaboration with OCD-UK and Trigger Press to give away 10 free eBooks! 5 X OCD, Anxiety and Related Depression books & 5 X Body Image Problems and Body Dysmorphic Disorder books. We will be doing two separate competitions, one for the OCD books and one for the BDD books. We will be starting with the OCD eBook prize draw this week! The lucky winners will be sent a code to download one of the OCD eBooks for free! The theme is ‘OCD is’ and we will be using this prize draw to raise awareness for what OCD is, so that we can educate the world on what OCD is not. Here is how to enter; 1. Choose one word you feel best describes OCD 2. Explain why you chose this word 3. Email this to office@ocduk.org It is that simple to enter! We will use every word submitted to create a piece of artwork to portray what OCD is. Let’s keep working together towards a future with no stigma behind Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Here is what will happen next; 1. Entries to this competition will close on Friday 15th May at 12pm 2. Everyone who entered will be sent a number via email 3. The numbers will be put into a hat 4. We will draw the 5 lucky winners on Monday 18th May at 10am on our Instagram story! (We will also email the winners) Please send your submissions to office@ocduk.org as the competition is now... OPEN!

Hi Jayne, I hope you don't mind my replying to you, Ashley had asked me to. My name is Zoe and I am the project leader for the parents project. I am sorry to hear that your daughter is struggling with her OCD, and that things are difficult for you too. Is your daughter currently having any therapeutic help? Or had any previously? As you say, it isn’t always easy not giving reassurance to someone you love, so try not to beat yourself up about this, it is normal to want to reassure someone who is in distress when you care about them. Have you tried any healthy reassurance techniques? When she is feeling like she cannot achieve her exposures use positive emotional reassurance such as: You can do this We can do this We are in this together Together we are going to beat OCD Together we are stronger than OCD I believe in you/I am here to support you This isn’t reassuring the OCD but reassurance to your daughter instead. They may sound so simple but they are great for motivation and courage to try. I understand that you might not see this now, but recovery is possible and there are many people proof of that. OCD may damage parts of someone’s life but it doesn’t shape the future. My advice to your daughter would be to be compassionate with yourself, don’t beat yourself up for having a setback, but don’t let it stop you from trying again tomorrow. Focus on now, today, but not tomorrow as this can be overwhelming. Any progress is heading in the right direction, whether it means that instead of a delay of up to 1 minute, it could be 50 seconds, this is still progress. Also in our experience, the snowball for making progress does move swiftly, so 1 minute soon becomes 10 minutes. Keep encouraging your daughter to ‘choose’ to challenge herself. Hope this helps Jayne