At Houston Anxiety and Wellness Center, this week holds special meaning for us. OCD is one of the most misunderstood mental health conditions. This week allows us an opportunity to educate, connect, and empower our community with accurate information about obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Our team is passionate about spreading awareness, building understanding, and providing compassionate, evidence-based care for individuals and families affected by OCD. This week, we’re proud to be in the community presenting, walking, creating resources, and having meaningful conversations about what recovery really looks like.
HAWC OCD Week Schedule of Events
Our Team at the 3rd Annual OCD Texas Symposium
We kicked off OCD Awareness Week at the OCD Texas Symposium and Mental Health Fair in San Antonio on October 11. This annual event brings together clinicians, individuals with lived experience, and families for a day of learning and connection.
Our team served as sponsors, presenters, and exhibitors. We were delighted to meet attendees from across Texas, sharing our favorite self-care items in the raffle, hosting a book giveaway at our exhibitor table, and connecting with colleagues who are equally passionate about advancing OCD awareness and treatment.
Bridging the Gap: Culturally Responsive, Evidence-Based Treatment for BFRBs
They discussed how clinicians can adapt evidence-based treatments like Habit Reversal Training (HRT) and the Comprehensive Behavioral Model (ComB) to meet the unique needs of clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. They highlighted the importance of understanding each client’s identity, values, and lived experience. This topic reflects our ongoing commitment to providing care that’s both scientifically grounded, culturally inclusive, and deeply compassionate.
OCD Awareness All Week Long - Follow Us on Instagram!
Throughout OCD Awareness Week, our clinicians are sharing short, informative videos on Instagram to help the public understand OCD beyond the stereotypes.
Each video features one of our team members talking about key topics like:
What OCD really looks like
How Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) works
Why Compulsions Maintain OCD Symptoms
What our clinicians have learned about OCD through their work
Messages of Hope
Follow along on Instagram @houstonanxietyandwellness and share the videos to help spread accurate information and reduce stigma.
Listen and Learn: Podcast Conversations
We’re grateful to have been invited to several podcasts to talk about anxiety and OCD—sharing insights from the therapy room and practical advice for parents and individuals navigating these challenges.
These conversations are great resources for anyone wanting to better understand OCD and what effective treatment looks like.
Read and Reframe: Helpful Blogs & Resources
We love helping our community learn practical tools to better understand and manage anxiety, OCD, and related challenges. On our website, you’ll find free guides and blogs designed to empower parents, kids, and teens to face fears with confidence.
We’re closing out OCD Awareness Week with one of our favorite community events: the 1 Million Steps for OCD Walk, happening on October 18 in Houston.
We’re proud to sponsor this event again this year and we’d love for you to walk with us! The walk brings together individuals, families, and providers to raise awareness, celebrate recovery, and support the work of the International OCD Foundation and OCD Texas.
We treat children, teens, and adults struggling with OCD, anxiety disorders, and body-focused repetitive behaviors. Each member of our team is hand-selected and trained to deliver care that’s compassionate, collaborative, and backed by research.
If you or someone you love is struggling, you’re not alone—and treatment works.
We hope you are inspired to join us this week - many voices lifting others up is how change comes to fruition. Advocacy is for all of us.
Attend a local OCD Awareness Week event!
Share our videos and blogs with others
Join our walk team on October 18
Forward this email to a friend or family member who might benefit
Together, we can change the way our community understands OCD -
one conversation,
one resource,
and one step at a time.
You’ve got this — and we’ve got you.💙
Practice Updates:
New: CBT + Cooking Camp
We’re cooking up something special this Thanksgiving break! 🦃
Join Bailey Grunder, LPC-A for a 3-day ThanksgivingCBT+ Cooking Camp—a creative, confidence-boosting experience for kids ages 7–12 that blends emotional learning with hands-on fun in the kitchen.
Each day, campers will pair CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) skill-building with kid-friendly cooking projects that don’t require an oven or stove. They’ll practice mindfulness, flexible thinking, and teamwork while creating festive favorites* like:
🥣 Pumpkin pie parfaits
🥗 No-bake turkey veggie wraps
🍪 Cookie butter energy bites
🎃 Pumpkin patch dirt cups
🥤 Apple pie smoothies
Between recipes, campers will learn:
How to identify and manage big feelings
Simple coping tools for frustration or mistakes
How thoughts, feelings, and actions are connected
Ways to use mindfulness to stay calm and confident
It’s the perfect blend of fun, skill-building, and creativity—and a great solution for parents who need childcare while school is out that week.
🗓 Nov 24–26 | 9am–3pm | $500 📍 4306 Yoakum Blvd. Suite 200 Houston, TX 77006 ✨ Space is limited—register by Nov 1!
To sign up, email info@houstonanxiety.com
*Note: Camp menu is still being finalized!
now accepting new clients
We've Cleared our Waiting List and opened up new Afterschool and Weekend spots on the schedule!
The following Clinicians are all accepting new clients!
We know how difficult it is to get in to see an expert therapist. You are looking for a clinician with the right training, who is fully invested in helping you calm the chaos in your life or family, and who you personally like. Every clinician at Houston Anxiety and Wellness Center is part of the team because they have the right credentials, excellent training, and are exceptional therapists. They are you've been looking for! As Clinical Director, Dr. Ivy Ruths handpicks and trains each employee, ensuring only the best, most dedicated clinicians are providing evidence-based treatment at our clinic.
Our goal is to share valuable, research-backed information that makes your life as a parent, educator, or clinicians easier - so that you are able to support your children, clients, and students in the best way possible.
👉🏽 ✨ You should also Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to keep up with all of the fun ways we are showing up in our community!
Interested in Starting Treatment with us?
We'd love to work with you! Our team of expert clinicians specializes in treating anxiety, OCD, eating disorders, body-focused repetitive disorders, and parenting difficulties — all through evidence-based care.
We only use therapies that have been proven effective through years of research such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), and Exposure and Response Prevention.
Virtual sessions are available for anyone in Texas, and our psychologists can see clients in all 42 PsyPact approved states.
Not sure how or who to schedule with? Start with ourtherapist matching form and our client care team will match you with the right-fit therapist for you within 1 business day.
