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by Bruce M. Hyman, Ph.D., LCSW
For support group information details, click here
OCD support groups are free services open to all persons with OCD and their families. The potential value of a support group in the lives of persons with OCD cannot be overemphasized. It is, for many sufferers, the vital first step on the road to recovery from OCD. As professional advisor to the Fort Lauderdale support group, I can personally vouch for the many persons with OCD who might never have achieved recovery without the experience of being in a support group.
Since its inception in 1989, the Fort Lauderdale group has been meeting twice monthly and regularly attracts between 15 and 30 persons with OCD and their family members, who are most welcomed. Participants learn of the group by word of mouth and many mental health professionals and agencies throughout Florida, the US and South America. Presently, the Fort Lauderdale group is led by Dr. Hyman, with assistance from long time members in recovery who are experienced with running the group. The goal of the group is to provide a compassionate, safe and respectful atmosphere for all persons willing to share their story with the group. Those choosing not to participate are considered as valuable and vital to the group as those choosing to jump in and participate. For many first timers, the choice to simply sit and listen is a valuable experience.
Beside the opportunity to share experiences, the support groups can be an enormously useful source of solid information about OCD. Treatment and referral options are often shared, as well as ways to cope with the many manifestations and complications OCD presents in the lives of patients and their families. Members are encouraged to take risks, confront fears, overcome obstacles to obtaining help and develop healthier, more realistic attitudes toward themselves and the disorder. While the mood of the group is often somber as new members share their pain and struggles with OCD, it is not uncommon to hear resounding applause emanating from the room when members share their most recent hard-earned victory resisting a ritual or mastering a formerly feared situation. The atmosphere of caring, encouragement and hope enlivens the meeting, leaving everyone recharged, renewed and feeling better about themselves. No longer are they alone is their struggles.
Many lasting friendships are established in the group as members are encouraged to form connections and contacts with each other outside the group. These prove to be vital linkages in the recovery process, as members call upon one another for friendship and support in their efforts to managed OCD in their lives.
Presently Active OCD Support Groups in South Florida:
Broward County
The Fort Lauderdale OCD Support Group
This group is free and open to all
OCD sufferers and their families. It is held every first and third Wednesday of each month
at the Mental Health Association of Broward 9 Muses conference room, Oakbrook Plaza, 7145 West Oakland Park Blvd.,
Ft. Lauderdale. It starts at 7:30pm and ends at approximately 9:30pm. For directions to the support group, plus a map
of the location, click here.
For more information call 954-962-6662, Ext. #5, or contact the Mental Health
Association of Broward at 954-746-2055.
Rebel's Drop-In Center - Obsessive-Compulsive Support Group - for adults
Rebel's Drop-In Center provides a supportive environment for
consumers of mental health and substance abuse services. It is sponsored by
Memorial Regional Hospital Center For Behavioral Health Outpatient Services, The
Department of Children and Families, and the Mental Health Association of
Broward County.
Rebel's has grown to over 100 members who enjoy a variety of
activities
and general peer support. Rebel's is about "People helping people recover."
This free group is open to all
OCD sufferers and family members. It is held every
2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month
at 6:00pm.
Rebel's Drop In-Center, is located
at the Behavioral Health Outpatient Building of Memorial Regional Hospital, 3400
N 29th Ave, Hollywood, Florida 33020 For more information about Rebel's and
directions, call 954-965-6408
or visit their website at
www.rebelsdropincenter.org.
Palm Beach County- NO PRESENTLY ACTIVE OCD SUPPORT GROUPS
Miami-Dade County - NO PRESENTLY ACTIVE OCD SUPPORT GROUPS
Copyright © 2008 OCD Resource Center of Florida. All Rights Reserved
