Rogers Memorial Hospital, a World Leader in OCD Treatment, To Open a New Treatment Facility December 16

OCONOMOWOC, Wis., Dec. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Each year, Rogers Memorial Hospital treats people from throughout the United States, Canada and even China for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Due to growing demand, the hospital will move its current OCD Center on December 16. Already one of the largest, most comprehensive OCD adult residential treatment programs in the world, the new location is nestled on a 23-acre peninsula between Lower Nashotah and Upper Nemahbin lakes in the Village of Summit.

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The newly renovated residential facility will offer 28 adult patients at a time a home-like, private and serene setting to help aid in their recovery process. This is a 16 percent increase from its previous facility.

According to internationally-recognized clinical director of the Roger's OCD Center, Bradley Riemann, Ph.D., "OCD is an extremely disabling disorder that affects 1 in 40 adults. It is characterized by unreasonable thoughts and fears, also known as obsessions that lead to repetitive behaviors, recognized as compulsions.

"For example, fears of germs may lead to excessive hand washing or fears of loss may lead to hoarding. As a result of OCD's paralyzing effects, when people first come to Rogers for treatment, they often have little hope they will ever be able to get better."

Dr. Riemann said that because of the complexity of OCD patients and their behaviors, a lot of research and planning had to go into creating the new residential treatment facility.

He said it was designed to be a physical representation of the innovative, evidence-based OCD treatment process which Rogers has become internationally recognized for perfecting.

"The foundation of our OCD treatment approach is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with an emphasis on exposure and response prevention (ERP). These therapies are evidence-based, meaning numerous research studies have documented and proven these therapies to be the most effective for OCD. Essentially, this approach helps patients gain skills to manage the thoughts and situations that trigger their anxiety."

Adults receive 35 hours of CBT and ERP each week. Therapy rooms, painted with warm and welcoming hues, are a private place where patients can work through their identified OCD issues. The day rooms in the new facility are flooded in natural light and furnished with comfortable seating to provide patients with an area for socialization and engagement. They are further complemented by large windows which offer tranquil lake views.

"Our hope is that our new facility's environment will provide our patients with the inspiration and focus they need to want to overcome their OCD so that our highly experienced treatment team can then provide them with the tools they need to get better."

According to Amanda, a former Rogers OCD patient from Edison, N.J., "Getting better, there is so much to it... the hardest work I have ever done in my life. My fears were broken down into hierarchies; the thought of doing the things that terrify you is against how you operate. When I look at my life I see it as pre-Rogers and post-Rogers. I wish more places would ascribe to their treatment plan, but there is only one Rogers."

Outcome studies completed by Dr. Riemann show that nearly 80 percent of Rogers' patients see a significant improvement in their OCD symptoms. 

This is the third expansion of the adult OCD residential treatment center at Rogers Memorial Hospital since it opened in 1999. Led by Dr. Riemann, who is also chairman for the clinical advisory committee of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF), Rogers remains firmly committed to increasing public awareness of OCD and helping people who have OCD to recover from its paralyzing effects and to rediscover life worth living. 

For more information on the Rogers OCD Center and treatment, which also includes OCD partial hospitalization and OCD intensive outpatient treatment, please visit www.rogershospital.org.

Rogers Memorial Hospital is a key corporation of Rogers Behavioral Health System, which also includes: Rogers Memorial Hospital Foundation, Inc.; Rogers Partners in Behavioral Health, LLC; Rogers Center for Research and Training; and Rogers InHealth. The hospital has become nationally recognized for its specialized residential treatment services and affiliations with academic institutions and teaching hospitals in the area. Rogers Memorial Hospital is currently Wisconsin's largest not-for-profit, private behavioral health hospital, providing adults, children and adolescents with eating disorders treatment, addiction treatment, obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders treatment, as well as caring for a variety of child and adolescent mental health concerns.  For more information, please visit www.rogershospital.org.

SOURCE Rogers Memorial Hospital