By: Katherine Pica, LCSW
Your Global Resource for Hope, Education, and Support for People with OCD
If you have ever felt trapped by unwanted thoughts or watched a loved one get stuck in rituals they can’t explain, first know that you are not alone. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a treatable condition, with many clients reporting an improved quality of life after seeking help and going through evidence-based treatment. That’s why the upcoming event we’re covering in today’s blog is not only meaningful to our team at Resilience Counseling, it’s an amazing opportunity filled with helpful resources for any child, teen, adult (or caretaker of someone) that lives with the daily challenges OCD can present.
This Saturday and Sunday, November 7-8, 2026, you’re invited to join the Online OCD Conference, a global event hosted by OCD SoCal, an affiliate of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF). Since our Founder and Clinical Director, Katherine Pica, also serves on the OCD SoCal board and will be a keynote speaker at the event, we’re able to offer our clients and followers a special discount code (see details below).
How to Save 50% On Your Ticket
Check out the conference Eventbrite page to learn more about the event
Click the “Get Tickets” button
Enter the code OCDPICA in the promo code box at checkout to save 50% on your ticket
What Is the Online OCD Conference?
This year marks OCD SoCal’s tenth conference, and it's one of the largest OCD gatherings in the world. Over two days, you can choose from more than 65 presentations led by OCD experts, researchers, psychiatrists, advocates, and people who live with OCD themselves.
Here's what makes it so welcoming:
It's online. Everything runs on Zoom, so you can attend from your living room in San Diego or anywhere else.
There's a track for everyone. New this year are a Young Adult track and a Kids track, alongside sessions for adults with OCD, family and loved ones, and professionals. Tracks are only suggestions, so you can attend any talk.
You can revisit what you learn. All presentations are recorded, and you'll have 60 days to access the recordings.
Community is built in. Evening activities include discussion groups, an "Ask the Experts" call-in show, and activities for kids and young adults.
Cost doesn't have to be a barrier. OCD SoCal offers scholarship tickets if you email scholarships@ocdsocal.org.
Why This Conference Matters Right Now
In December 2025, the IOCDF released a white paper called America's OCD Care Crisis, the largest study of people with OCD to date. The findings are hard to read, but they matter:
Up to 10 million Americans likely live with OCD, yet only 1 in 6 receive a diagnosis
About 95% of people with OCD in the U.S. do not receive the most effective treatment
People with OCD are being failed at every step: screening, diagnosis, referral, and treatment
The conference keynote features five members of the OCD community. They'll share how shame kept many from the right care, and how each one eventually found effective treatment and thrived.
Why Resilience Counseling Cares About OCD Awareness
Those statistics aren't abstract to our team. Resilience Counseling is a female-owned and operated practice in San Diego that specializes in OCD, anxiety, and trauma. We've helped hundreds of kids, teens, and adults get their lives back, and we know how much a missed or delayed diagnosis can cost a family.
Many people come to us after years of believing their intrusive thoughts meant something terrible about them. Others were told it was “just anxiety.” OCD is far more than being neat or organized. It can look like contamination fears, harm obsessions, relationship doubts, health worries, or Pure O OCD, where the compulsions happen invisibly in the mind. Jokes about “being so OCD” only deepen the silence and shame that keep people from asking for help.
We want to change that. Our San Diego OCD therapists use Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold-standard, evidence-based treatment for OCD, along with CBT and mindfulness-based approaches. For parents, we also offer SPACE treatment, which helps you support an anxious child without feeding the cycle. Whether you're a parent worried about your child, a teen who feels misunderstood, or an adult who has been white-knuckling it for years, asking for help is brave, and it works.
Meet Our Founder at the Conference
If you're a clinician who wants to feel more confident treating OCD, we have good news. Katherine Pica, LCSW, Resilience Counseling’s Founder and Clinical Director, plus board member of OCD SoCal, will present two keynote sessions on Saturday, November 7. Both offer CE credits:
11:15am–12:30pm PT: “Stop Arguing with OCD: The Art of Non-Engagement Responses”
2:15pm–3:00pm PT: “OCD in the Media: Sorting the Myths from the Diagnosis”
If you’ve watched clients debate with OCD’s endless what-ifs, you know that arguing rarely helps. Katherine's first session explores what to do instead. Her second tackles the headlines, TV plots, and social media posts that blur the line between everyday quirks and a true OCD diagnosis. Both are practical, plain-spoken, and built for the therapy room.
OCD SoCal partners with USC and OCD Training School to offer up to 8.75 CE credits through APA and NBCC for eligible sessions. A few details to know:
You must attend live to earn CE credits; recordings don't qualify
Requirements vary by licensing board, so psychologists, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs should confirm what their board accepts
Review the full lineup of sessions for more information
Reminder: You can save 50% on your ticket by entering the code OCDPICA in the promo code box at checkout on the conference Eventbrite page.
Ready to Take the Next Step for OCD Therapy?
Whether you're attending the conference for yourself, your family, or your clients, we hope it leaves you feeling understood and encouraged. OCD thrives in secrecy, and every conversation, every session, and every person who reaches out chips away at the stigma.
If you or your child are struggling with OCD, anxiety, or trauma, you don't have to wait for a conference to begin. We offer in-person therapy in San Diego, including Scripps Ranch, Poway, Rancho Santa Fe, La Jolla, and UTC, plus online therapy across California.
Book a free 15-minute consultation or call us at (858) 768-8737. You can also learn more about our OCD treatment in San Diego, child therapy, and teen therapy.
Getting the help you or your loved one need for OCD is available — and we’d be honored to help you start.
Author Bio: Katherine Pica OCD Therapist — San Diego, CA
Katherine Pica, LCSW, is the Founder and Clinical Director of Resilience Counseling and has been practicing since 2007. With more than 19 years of clinical experience, she provides supervision and training to the practice’s OCD therapists with a focus on Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and EMDR for trauma. Katherine brings extensive experience treating OCD to both her clients and the clinicians she mentors.
Katherine also serves as the Training Director and board member for OCD SoCal, where she is actively involved in increasing OCD awareness, education, and community support throughout San Diego and Southern California.
OCD therapy in
San Diego, CA based office
The information shared on this website is intended for general educational purposes and does not replace professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical or mental health concerns. Do not postpone or avoid professional care based on information found here. If you believe you are experiencing a medical emergency, contact your doctor, call 911, or reach out to your local emergency number immediately.
