OCD-UK

OCD Challenge is online, interactive, behavioural program designed by the US charitable organisation, Peace of Mind, to help people suffering from OCD. The program was built by psychologists who are leaders in the field of behaviour therapy, and thanks to our Elizabeth McIngvale and our friends at her Peace of Mind Foundation the program has been made freely available as an online resource for anyone across the globe affected by this insidious illness.

The OCD Challenge program helps you identify specific OCD challenges, and your path to success by teaching skills and strategies for managing your OCD using the principles of Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the treatment of choice for OCD.

OCD-UK are delighted to announce that during Spring 2013 we will be hosting a one-day conference specifically for parents of children (school age) with OCD.  

The conference aims to explore and provide practical advice and solutions to the problems Mum’s and Dad’s face dealing with their child’s OCD,  from dealing with the OCD at home, dealing with their child’s school and problems many parents tell us they have in accessing formal diagnosis and treatment through their local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).   Although this conference is aimed primarily at parents of children with OCD, we believe the event will also benefit those that work with children with OCD within a CAMHS and teaching setting.

Running not your thing? Well you can still fundraise for OCD-UK through a variety of means, one such way is a sponsored Cycle Ride and OCD-UK chief-executive Ashley Fulwood as put his money where is mouth is, literally, by signing up for the famous London to Paris cycling challenge, 300 miles, almost 500km in just 4 day during September!

"If attempting to use my bandy little legs to run for my charity was not enough, I have set myself a brand new target, and this year I am attempting to cycle from our cosmopolitan capital (well, Crystal Palace) to Paris, and the Eiffel Tower. Along the way as we cycle through the suburbs of the romantic capital I will get to soak up some of the Parisian way of life, who knows it may even help sophisticate me!   However, this little jaunt on my old two wheeled speed machine is no sedate cycle, this is 300 miles, almost 500km in just four days. 

"I won't say OCD as totally ruined my life, but I will say that OCD as done its bloody best to try and ruin my life!  "

By Catherine Mills, vice-chair OCD-UK.

The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for welfare and pension policy, which is the biggest public service delivery department in the UK and serves over 20 million customers

In January 2012 the Department for Work and Pensions issued a consultation document which outlined in more detail, the assessment criteria for the new Personal Independence Payment which will replace Disability Living Allowance from 2013. The full document can be viewed at on the Department for Work and Pensions website here.

The following comments were fedback to the DWP by OCD-UK.

Another weekend, and another marathon weekend for Team OCD-UK, so a huge thank you to Carlie, Jim, John. Kris, Melody and Nicola that ran and completed the Virgin London Marathon on Sunday for our charity. Those fantastic fundraiser's completed the arduous 26.2 mile course and really have made us all at OCD-UK proud of their efforts and achievement, so thank you all.

One of those running was OCD-UK member Nicola pictured in the set (click the 'read more' link) waving goodbye to the OCD-UK team on Tower Bridge on Sunday. You can help OCD-UK and Nicola by sponsoring her for OCD-UK via her Just Giving page here.

For those inspired by today's London Marathon, we have a number of places available in other running events later this year, and we would love to welcome new runners to Team OCD-UK, be you a beginner or an experienced runner, we would love to offer you the opportunity to run for OCD-UK.

If it's the London marathon you want for 2013, then we recommend you enter the public ballot for places which will open next Monday (30th), but be quick, the ballot is closed once so many applications are received, and that usually happens within 24 hours. 2013 runners are then selected at random and notified in october if you have a place for next years London Marathon. At the time of writing we do not have any available places ourselves for the 2013 London Marathon, although we may obtain some later this year, so we recommend if you wiah to run for OCD-UK please enter the public ballot. Should you receive your ballot place in October then let us know and we will add you to Team OCD-UK and try and help you with training materials, fundraising advice and of course OCD-UK running clothing, and we will even refund your race entry fee should you choose run for OCD-UK!

We have a fantastic field of eight runners participating in this years Great Manchester Run (10k / 6.6 miles) on Sunday 20th May, but we have two places left, and we really want to be able to field a team of 10 runners!

So if you fancy being part of one of the best 10k events in the UK, and perhaps your first go at running, let us know before Friday so we can get you entered as part of Team OCD-UK.