by Ian Osborn
ONTARIO
London
Contact: Jim Wallis (519) 644–2368
Open to: Individuals with OCD and family members
Frequency: 1st Tuesday, 7–9 P.M.
Location: 648 Huron St.
Updated May 1997
Markham
Contact: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Network (OCCDN) (905) 294–0494, or write P.O. Box 151, Markham, Ontario L3P 3J7, Canada
Open to: Individuals with OCD
Self-help group
Updated October 1997
New Market
Contact: Marianne Small (905) 836–4777
Open to: Individuals with OCD and significant others
Frequency: 1st and 3rd Monday, 7:30 P.M.
Self-help group
Updated October 1997
Ottawa
Contact: Rolland Boisvenu (613) 722–3607
Frequency: Every other Wednesday, 7:30–10 P.M.
Location: Hintonburg Community Center, Champlain Room, Wellington St.
Self-help group
Updated March 1996
Pickering
Contact: Free from Fear, or The Anxiety Disorders Network (905) 831–3877, or write to 1848 Liverpool Rd., Suite 199, Pickering, Ontario, L1V 6M3, Canada, for information about support groups in your area.
Self-help group
Updated October 1997
Toronto
Contact: Jan Stewart (416) 364–0222
Open to: Parents of children with OCD
Location: Hospital for Sick Children
Updated October 1997
Unionville
Contact: Diane (905) 472–0494; [email protected]
Open to: Individuals with OCD
Frequency: 1st and 3rd Thursday, 7:30 P.M.
Location: St. Justine Lamarter Church, 3898 Highway 7
Self-help group
Updated October 1997
Waterloo
Contact: Astride (519) 746–9644
Open to: Individuals with OCD and family members
Frequency: 2nd and 4th Thursday, 7 P.M.
Location: Adult Recreation Centre, 185 King St. South
Updated October 1997
Windsor
Contact: Family YMCA, PATH Program (519) 258–9622 ext. 57 or 58
Open to: Individuals with OCD, family, and friends
Frequency: 2nd and 4th Thursday, 7–9 P.M.
Location: 511 Pelissier
Self-help group
Updated August 1997
QUEBEC
Montréal
Contact: Stephanie Aylwin, Ami Quebec (514) 486–1448
Open to: Individuals with OCD, family and friends
Frequency: Two groups per month. Periodically, psychoeducational programs are offered.
Updated October 1997
North Bay
Contact: Larry (705) 497–9460
Open to: Individuals with OCD
Frequency: Thursday, 7 P.M.
Location: 163 First Avenue East
Updated October 1997
Contact: Jan Stewart (416) 364–0222
Open to: Parents of children with OCD
Location: Hospital of Sick Children
Updated October 1997
To my OCD patients at Penn State and
at the Clearfield-Jefferson Community Mental Health Center
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am first of all indebted to my OCD patients, every one of whom played a role in the writing of this book. My thanks goes out especially to those who graciously allowed me to share their experiences. A few of the case studies in this book, for extra confidentiality, combine symptoms of two or three patients. The great majority of case studies, however, accurately present the story of one person’s battle with OCD with only minimal changes in personal identifying data.
This book could not have been written without the encouragement and suggestions of friends here at Penn State. Bernie Asbel and Wendell Harris got me started. Rob Gannon, Margaret Lyday, and Sherry Hogan provided helpful suggestions. David Pacchioli, editor at Research Penn State, generously provided invaluable and ongoing editorial assistance.
I am much obliged to Regina Ryan, who gave help that went well beyond that usually provided by a literary agent; and to Linda Healey, my editor at Pantheon Books, who managed a host of details from start to finish. I want to thank my colleagues who provided me with opportunities to work intensively with OCD patients, including Rex McClure, Dennis Clark, Paul Tabone, Jane Gorman, and Sandy Gaffney at the Clearfield-Jefferson Community Mental Health Center; and Dennis Heitzmann and Sue Gibson at the CAPS center at Penn State. I am grateful to the Centre Community Hospital library for obtaining many obscure journal articles and books that were out of print.
I have also greatly appreciated the time that a number of experts in the field of OCD have given me. This list includes, but is not limited to, Jon Grayson, Michael Jenike, Lee Baer, John March, Gail Stektee, Edna Foa, Jeffrey Schwartz, and Alec Pollard. The OC Foundation has also been extremely helpful, especially Jim Broatch, Patricia Perkins-Doyle, and Susan Duffy.
Lastly, no one deserves more thanks than my wife Rosa and my three children, Frank, Paula, and Billy, who were always encouraging and who put up with my working on the book on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Ian Osborn, M.D., is a practicing psychiatrist in State College, Pennsylvania, and a specialist in the treatment of OCD. He lectures frequently to mental health professionals and to the general public.