International OCD Awareness Week: An Opportunity to Help Others

October 11-17 is International OCD Awareness Week, an observance founded by the International OCD Foundation(link is external) (IOCDF). Now in its sixth year, International OCD Awareness Week was created to improve public understanding of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and increase timely access to care and behavioral health treatment.

Currently in the United States, over two million adults and 500,000 children suffer from OCD symptoms. Rogers InHealth(link is external), the advocacy arm of Rogers Behavioral Health which helps reduce mental health stigma in our communities, shares personal stories(link is external) offered by those with mental illness to help empower others and highlight that symptom reduction is possible. Rogers InHealth also combats misconceptions on OCD and other mental illnesses by offering presentations and conducting other community work in schools and workplaces.

One person who shared their experience at Rogers said, “You will face challenges and hard days ahead, but every minute is worth the healing your child and family will experience. We encourage you and your child not to be discouraged by difficult days. Trust the process. Progress really is being made.”

Rogers Behavioral Health strives to meet the need for OCD and related anxiety disorder programming present in specific communities by providing quality care to those locations. Since the last International OCD Awareness Week, Rogers has increased access to specialized outpatient care. Recently, Rogers began providing services in Appleton, WI, and has also opened regional locations in Skokie, IL, and Nashville, TN since the last international observance.

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