CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today NOCD, the #1 provider for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), announced the results of its second annual OCD Awareness Month, a one-month expansion of the International OCD Foundation’s (IOCDF) annual #OCDWeek. This year the company raised the bar on elevating OCD awareness by massively expanding the number and type of activities held on the ground and online. NOCD produced a total of 70 events during OCD Awareness Month that reached, engaged, or educated over 3.6 million people.
Every activity was designed to increase the understanding of OCD among the public, providers, and payers to encourage delivery of effective care that can improve clinical outcomes, while also reducing the cost of care for those in need. Today over 180 million people worldwide are affected by OCD. But many aren’t receiving effective therapy due to misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment, or a simple lack of awareness among therapists, health plans, and families about novel therapeutic approaches (such as ERP therapy) that can bring relief to their patients, members, and loved ones.
“This year we dramatically increased our investment in the community to give OCD awareness a much louder voice, and we were, frankly, astounded and gratified by the results,” said Stephen Smith, chief executive officer of NOCD. “Research shows it can take 10 years or more before someone affected by OCD can find appropriate care. That’s unacceptable, given the fact that effective therapies are as close as the smartphone in your hand today. The key to helping people find relief starts with awareness, and we want to reach as many people as possible with the knowledge, resources, and easy access to care they need to feel better and reclaim their life.”
Among the 70 events produced by NOCD:
- An appearance by Howie Mandel on the Jennifer Hudson Show raising OCD awareness that reached nearly one million viewers, according to Nielsen
- An online panel featuring NOCD spokesperson Howie Mandel; Dr. Kenneth Duckworth, Chief Medical Officer of NAMI; along with Stephen Smith, CEO & Co-founder of NOCD; Mia Nuñez, PhD, West Regional Clinical Director at NOCD; and moderated by NOCD’s Chief Clinical Officer, Patrick McGrath, PhD jump started OCD Awareness month. The panel focused on destigmatizing OCD and promoted the release of NAMI’s top-rated guide to navigating mental health.
- Six NOCD Academy courses providing continuing education for 1,643 registered healthcare professionals who received 1,060 free CE credits
- An article, “An Overview of OCD: Causes, Signs, Symptoms and Treatment,” featured on Cigna’s Newsworthy blog
- Nine live “Ask an Expert” Q&A webinars on YouTube
- Eight live OCD Q&A sessions on Instagram and TikTok
- Eight community giveaways
- Two NOCD workshop webinars covering OCD Awareness Month
- Two industry webinars covering “Best Practices for Identifying OCD” and “Handling the Taboo & Superstitious Thoughts of OCD”
- 1,000 copies of “You Are Not Alone,” NAMI’s mental health guide, given away.
- 32 IOCDF International Walks
Overall, these 70 events reached a minimum of 3.6 million people nationwide. All of these resources remain available online through NOCD’s online community to help as many people as possible learn how to improve their mental health, wellbeing, and end the stigma associated with OCD.
“This is just the beginning,” said CEO Smith. “We firmly believe that a lack of OCD awareness is the leading cause for inappropriate behavioral health. Too many people don’t understand it. We’ll continue to lead and invest in raising OCD awareness. We’re already planning next year’s activities, and have exciting ideas on the table for how to reach more people who are dealing with OCD. I thank everyone who helped make this year’s event a success, including Howie Mandel, our partners at NAMI and the IOCDF, the 300+ specialized OCD therapists in our national provider network, the nearly 300,000 members of our online community, and the over 30 insurance plans that cover NOCD Therapy, including Aetna, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare, many Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.”
About NOCD
NOCD (https://www.nocd.com) is the #1 provider for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and the leading company driving Community-Driven Therapy, a new frontier in behavioral healthcare that leverages condition-specific peer communities to identify consumers in need of help, encourage them to begin treatment, and serve them in a highly personalized way. The company helps people reclaim their lives with clinically proven OCD treatment by removing barriers to care and reducing the stigma associated with OCD. Inside the NOCD platform, members can quickly access a national network of licensed therapists who specialize in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy, the “gold standard” for OCD treatment. Working together with our therapists, patients, health plans, providers, and employers, we are improving the lives of people with OCD. Please visit our website for more information about NOCD.
