The OCD New Jersey Annual Conference will be held on Sunday, October 23, 2011 at the Doubletree Hotel in Somerset, NJ. For the first time, we will have "Co-presenters" run our featured presentation.

The Presenters

This year's conference speaker will be Jeff Bell, the spokesperson for the International OCD Foundation.

Jeff Bell is a nationally-known author, news anchor, and motivational speaker. Since the publication of his OCD memoir, "Rewind, Replay, Repeat," in 2007, he has traveled extensively, lending his support to numerous mental health organizations, including Mental Health America, which has honored him with its prestigious forWARDS Award, for "moving the cause of mental health forward."

Bell serves as a national spokesperson and board member for the International OCD Foundation and is donating a portion of the proceeds from his new book, "When in Doubt, Make Belief " to the organization.

His Psychology Today blog offers readers an intimate look at life with OCD and includes the contributions of many IOCDF Scientific Advisory Board members. 

A 20-year veteran of radio and television news, Bell currently co-anchors afternoons at KCBS Radio, the CBS Network’s San Francisco flagship. 

Visit Bell online at www.BeyondTheDoubt.org.   View a clip of Jeff Bell on YouTube. 

Dr. Allen Weg is one of the co-founders and VP on the Board of Directors of OCD New Jersey.  He is  a New Jersey licensed psychologist and founder and executive director of Stress and Anxiety Services of New Jersey, an independent practice of psychologists in East Brunswick specializing in the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders.  He is co-founder and VP on the Board of Directors at OCDNJ.

Dr. Weg has been a field clinical supervisor for graduate students at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University since 1991 and over the years he has presented dozens of times to many professional mental health organizations on the topic of the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders.

Dr. Weg is also on the Steering Committee of the New Jersey Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists.  He has received certifications from both The Trichotillomania Learning Center as well as the International OCD Foundation’s (IOCDF) Behavioral Therapy Training Institute, and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of IOCDF. He has been seen previously on several cable TV talk shows, and was recently featured on the ABC news show Primetime which focused on the treatment of children with OCD, as well as NPR’s Voices in the Family, where he discussed storytelling in OCD treatment.

Dr. Weg has contributed a book chapter entitled, Storytelling and Use of Metaphor in the Treatment of OCD. in the Social Workers’ Desk Reference, second edition (New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press 2008) in response to a specific request by the editor-in-chief.   His own book, OCD Treatment Through Storytelling: A Strategy for Successful Therapy, was published in 2011 by Oxford University Press.

The Program

This program is designed for both professionals and non-professionals. During a full brunch Dr. Weg and Mr. Bell will present, "The Greater Good Perspective Shift-A 'Field-Tested' Approach to OCD Treatment Motivation." In this interactive, multimedia presentation, Mr. Bell shares the ground breaking motivation strategy he developed--out of sheer necessity during his own treatment--for consumers like himself facing the rigors of exposure/response-prevention therapy. At the same time, Dr. Weg will provide the clinical analysis of the material being reviewed by Mr. Bell. As countless therapists and consumers across the country have learned through Bell's books and workshops, one simple "cognitive shift" technique can make all the difference between consumer overload and successful CBT/ERP treatment.

The second part of the program, entitled, "Living with OCD," will consist of a panel of those affected by OCD, who will each briefly speak about their experiences and then take questions from the audience attendees. This will be moderated by Dr. Weg.

Read the 2011 OCD New Jersey Annual Conference brochure including the Registration form.