Dr. McIngvale’s story really is quite remarkable. She was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder at the age of 12, and doctors initially believed that her symptoms were too severe to be treated. Her rituals included severe repetition of tasks, obsessions with religious symbolism, and washing her hands over 100 times a day. She engaged in a treatment for OCD called Exposure with Response Prevention and at age 18 became the national spokesperson for the International OCD Foundation. She now successfully manages her symptoms of OCD and has turned her struggles into opportunities for others.

My story should not be the exception; my story should be the norm. Everybody living with a mental health condition should have the ability and the opportunity to get appropriate treatment and to learn to manage their illness.Dr. Elizabeth McIngvale

Dr. McIngvale operates ocdchallenge.com, a free self-help website for OCD which is available in 6 languages and serves nearly 4,000 individuals. She is the Director of McLean OCD Institute at Houston and is a renowned speaker on both the local and national level, speaking on behalf of OCD, mental illness, and mental health stigma. She has received numerous awards for her advocacy and impact on the mental health field and is internationally recognized for her clinical work and advancements in the OCD field. In my interview with Dr. McIngvale, she talks about managing ongoing symptoms of OCD, her experience with Exposure with Response Prevention treatment, and her ongoing clinical, academic, and advocacy work in the field of OCD.