Bradley C. Riemann, PhD, Clinical Director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Center and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Services at Rogers Memorial Hospital, will be giving no less than seven talks at this weekend’s Anxiety Disorders Association of America Annual Conference. The 2010 conference is held March 4 through 7 in Baltimore.
Riemann will be speaking on the ongoing development of research projects based on data collected by Rogers Memorial Hospital, as well as addressing the conference on the subject of differential diagnoses in the upcoming DSM-V.

Rieman will be part of a discussion group looking at the DSM-V’s impact on practice and research, along with Jonathan Abramowitz, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Katharine Phillips, MD, Alpert Medical School of Brown University; Dan Stein, MD, University of Stellenbosch; Roberto Lewis-Fernández, MD, New York State Psychiatric Institute/ColumbiaUniversity; Simon Rego, PsyD, Montefiore Medical Center; and, Reid Wilson, PhD, AnxietyDisorders Treatment Center.

Riemann, along with Shawn Cahill, PhD, and Throstur Bjorgvinsson, PhD, as part of the OCD Research Collaborative Association, will be hosting a symposium entitled “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Residential and Intensive Outpatient Treatment Programs in Adolescents and Adults.”  The topics included in the symposium are:

• “Treatment of OCD at Rogers Memorial Hospital: Description of the Programs and Patient Characteristics at Admission” by Bradley Riemann, PhD
• “Residential and Intensive Outpatient Treatment of Adult OCD: An Investigation of Treatment Response, Mediators, and Moderators of Treatment Outcome and Comparison With Efficacy Trials” by Shawn Cahill, PhD, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
• “Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Adolescents: Examining the Effectiveness of Residential and Intensive Outpatient Treatment” by Martin Franklin, PhD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
• “Comorbid OCD and Eating Disorders: Results From a Specialty Residential Program,” Chad Wetterneck, PhD, University of Houston, Clear Lake

Rogers Memorial Hospital is also exhibiting throughout the conference.

How do you know if you or someone you love has a hording disorder?

Here are some signs a person can look for when evaluating whether or not they or a loved one may need professional treatment with their hoarding disorder.

1. Acquisition of, and inability to discard, meaningless objects
2. Cluttered living spaces that limit their use
3. Significant distress and/or interference in functioning

What are some ways to treat a hoarding disorder?

1. Get professional help. Contact Rogers Memorial Hospital’s admissions department or complete our online form for a screening.
2. Once you have a relationship with a mental health professional, you can begin working to identify triggers to hoarding and track items brought into the home
3. Through exposure and response prevention patients are repeatedly exposed to the anxiety, anger and sadness associated with discarding possessions.
4. Organize: To keep an item the patient must have a place to put it. Develop rules for sorting, discarding and organizing. Encourage decision making and problem solving.
5. Develop alternative behaviors: Perform previously avoided activities such as doing the dishes, laundry, preparing meals. Establish short and long term goals such as work, volunteering, socializing etc.

What are some resources for learning more about hoarding?

The Obsessive Compulsive Foundation

The OCF is a not-for-profit organization of people with OCD and related disorders, their families, and mental health professionals. The OCF also has a sub site on hoarding.

Anxiety Disorders Association of America

ADAA Provides prevention and treatment information for individuals, family members and professionals.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Support Group:

An OCD support group is held on the 2nd Wednesday & 4th Thursday of every month from 7:00-8:30 pm at First United Methodist Church: 121 Wisconsin in Waukesha. 542-4256.

• Rogers Memorial Hospital is nationally recognized OCD treatment is available in southeastern Wisconsin.
• The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Center at Rogers Memorial Hospital celebrates its 10th anniversary this year under the clinical direction of Bradley C. Riemann, PhD.
• Rogers Memorial is one of the few places in the country to offer intensive CBT services in a residential setting for children and teens.

Residential treatment

• One of two programs in the country, the OCD Center provides intensive treatment for severe and difficult cases of OCD, OC spectrum disorders and other severe anxiety disorders.
• The staff of the OCD Center also oversees CBT treatment in other residential programs at Rogers Memorial, including The Child Center and The Eating Disorder Center.
• Treatment is effective
• Outcome studies of CBT treatment done at Rogers Memorial Hospital show that up to 80 percent of the people who complete its CBT program significantly reduce their anxiety symptoms from a sever to a much more manageable level.

OCD resources

RogersOCD.org
To learn more about the treatment of OCD, OC-spectrum disorders or other severe anxiety disorders.

Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation
To access research information and networking resources for individuals, families and professionals.

OCD Services at Rogers Memorial Hospital
Rogers Memorial Hospital is Wisconsin’s largest, not-for-profit, behavioral health care provider for children, adolescents, adults and older adults. The hospital is nationally recognized for its residential treatment centers including The Eating Disorder Center, The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Center and The Child and Adolescent Centers. Rogers Memorial also provides residential treatment services for chemical dependency, inpatient and partial hospitalization, as well as day treatment programs.

 Anxiety disorders affect 1 in 6 people in America each year. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless and can be progressively debilitating if not treated.

 The term “anxiety disorders” refers to many psychiatric disorders, each with its own distinct features such as: generalized anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. The disorders are bound together by the common theme of extreme fear or worry. People with an anxiety disorder have persistent, intense and irrational anxiety, fear or dread that is uncontrollable and significantly affects their daily functioning at home, work or school.

 Rogers Memorial Hospital is a nationally recognized leader in the treatment of anxiety disorders. For people with OCD, OC-spectrum disorders (such as body dysmorphic disorder and trichotillomania), or severe anxiety disorders, graduated exposures to thoughts or situations that produce anxiety are essential. Research suggests that the vast majority of people with an anxiety disorder respond well to our treatment approach.

 Research supports that CBT is the most effective method for treating anxiety disorders. CBT is a teaching model that provides patients with the necessary skills to alter dysfunctional thoughts and change avoidant behaviors.  

Treatment goals focus on a significant reduction in OCD symptoms and reintegration into the community. The length of stay is flexible, averaging 60 days. Residential care is cost-effective treatment that is an alternative to either inpatient or outpatient care.

Residential patients may participate in the following treatment components:

• Cognitive restructuring training
• Problem-solving skills training
• Daily living skills training
• Recreational therapy
• Patient and family education

The cost of the program is covered by most insurance companies.

The program’s goal is to reduce OCD symptoms to a manageable level. Day treatment patients may participate in the following treatment components:

• Problem-solving skills training
• Daily living skills training
• Patient and family education

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Bradley C. Riemann, PhD, is the Clinical Director of The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Center & Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Services of Rogers Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Riemann is a leading expert in the assessment and cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders and supervises the training program for graduate and post-graduate students from around the country for cognitive behavioral therapy in anxiety disorders.

Dr. Riemann co-chairs the Clinical Advisory Committee and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the OC Foundation and the OC Foundation Chicago. He is a member of the Publications Committee of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America and past president of the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Association in Waukesha County. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Psychological Association.

He has authored numerous scientific papers on obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety and has spoken at national and international conventions, including the Association for the Advancement for Behavioral Therapy, the American Anxiety Disorder Association and the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation.

He collaborates with colleges and universities all over the country on research projects investigating obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety. Dr. Riemann has also been featured on the national television shows 48 Hours and The Today Show.

Dr. Riemann received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the Chicago Medical School. He is also a clinical assistant professor in the department of psychology at the Chicago Medical School, Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

In 2009, the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Center at Rogers Memorial Hospital celebrates its 10th anniversary this year under the clinical direction of Bradley C. Riemann, PhD.

The OCD Center is one of two residential OCD treatment centers in the country. By practicing evidence-based therapies, including cognitive-behavioral therapy combined with medication intervention when necessary, the OCD Center has helped hundreds of OCD sufferers over the years.

The program grew out of a need expressed by the patients of Rogers Memorial’s day treatment program for more intensive treatment. Rogers Memorial’s day treatment program was launched approximately two years before The OCD Center and offers 12 hours of treatment per week, for approximately four to five weeks.