Elizabeth McIngvale is the founder of the Peace of Mind foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder treatment, research and education. Elizabeth was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) at the age of 12; and at one-point doctors believed McIngvale's OCD was too severe to be treated. Her rituals included repeating menial tasks 42 times, obsessions with religious symbolism, contamination, color and number issues and washing her hands over 100 times a day. Her life was consumed with her OCD and she was no longer able to function in her daily life. Soon after being diagnosed, Elizabeth was admitted into the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas under the care and treatment of Dr. Bjorgvinsson. After three months of treatment Elizabeth was able to return home, to Houston, Texas and was able to re-enroll in school and begin to be herself again. However the battle was not over; Elizabeth relapsed at the age of 17 and was re-admitted into Menninger for additional treatment. Although Elizabeth has struggled tremendously in her life, and still battles OCD on a daily basis, she is determined to have normalcy in her life regardless of what her OCD torments her with. Elizabeth received her master’s degree in Social Work from Loyola University Chicago and is now pursuing her doctorate degree at the University of Houston. After years of being lost and alone, McIngvale has realized the importance of being able to relate to others and the need of doctors and counselors that truly understand their patients. At age 18 Elizabeth became the national spokesperson for the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation, a national non-profit organization dedicated to OCD. Elizabeth took on this role because she felt that she could impact others through her story and dedication to finding a cure for OCD. Elizabeth has appeared on various national television shows during her work as national spokesperson, some of the shows include: The Dr. Phil Show, Good Morning America, Inside Edition, The View, The OCD Project and many other local TV and radio shows to spread knowledge about OCD and the impact that this illness has had on her life. Elizabeth is now focused on the future of helping others as her life-long goal, for she believes her first hand experience will truly benefit her in this task and make her more of an “approachable” type of counselor being that she understands the patients on a first hand basis. Elizabeth’s foundation also runs the ocdchallenge.com; a self-help website for those living with OCD. Through the years Elizabeth has become an icon in the area of OCD and mental health; patients and therapists alike look to Liz as not just one of them, but as someone who has finally stepped out of the dark and put a face to mental health and specifically OCD, something that up until now, was not often done.

Dr. Martin Franklin is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, and Director of the Child and Adolescent OCD, Tic, Trich, and Anxiety Group (COTTAGe) in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Franklin received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Rhode Island. He has devoted his career to the study of anxiety and body-focused repetitive behaviors (such as chronic tic disorders and trichotillomania, TTM) in children and adults. His clinical and research careers have centered on these disorders, with a particular emphasis on developing and disseminating effective treatments. Dr. Franklin has published theoretical, clinical and empirical papers and chapters, as well as treatment manuals.

Currently, Dr. Franklin is a principal investigator of several multicenter studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health including an examination Cognitive Behavioral Therapy augmentation in Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors partial responders as well as an examination of the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy for very young children with OCD. As the principal investigator on these multicenter studies, Dr. Franklin is a leading member of the Pediatric OCD Study team (POTS). The POTS team has set the precedent for the development of new practice guidelines for the treatment of OCD in youth through this momentous research projects.

Dr. Franklin was the key contributor to the programmatic flow and clinical blueprint for the OCDChallenge program.  Dr. Franklin used his years of clinical and research expertise to help create the premiere web-based OCD program that is based upon the principles of Exposure and Response Prevention treatment.  He also serves as a clinical guide for users as they progress through the program.

Melinda Stanley, Ph.D. is Professor and Head of the Division of Psychology in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. She holds the McIngvale Family Chair in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Research and a secondary appointment as Professor in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Stanley is a licensed clinical psychologist and senior mental health services researcher at the Houston Health Services Research and Development Center of Excellence, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, and an affiliate investigator for the South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC). Dr. Stanley has published many papers related to the nature and treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder and trichotillomania, as well as the identification and treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders in older adults. She has over 150 scientific publications including journal articles, book chapters, and books.

Dr. Stanley served as a consultant to this project and contributed her clinical expertise regarding the treatment of OCD. She was instrumental in guiding user interaction and program content.

Dr. Suzanne Mouton-Odum is a clinical psychologist who has been in private practice since 1995. She specializes in treating people who suffer with Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in particular. Dr. Mouton-Odum is the President of eInnerAct, Ltd. and has been a pioneer in developing interactive, self-help programs for the past ten years. Other programs that she contributed significantly to the development of include: www.stoppulling.com, www.stoppicking.com, and www.daretoquit.com. Dr. Mouton-Odum has served on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Trichotillomania Learning Center (an international non-profit organization helping people with compulsive hair-pulling and skin-picking disorders) since 2001. Dr. Mouton-Odum contributed to the development www.OCDChallenge.org by helping to translate the complex treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder into an easy-to-use, self-help interface that can be used with or without the assistance of a therapist.

Robin Reamer, Ph.D. is the president and co-founder of PsycTech, Ltd. and the vice-president and co-founder of eInnerAct, Ltd. Both companies develop and market interactive, internet based, social and behavioral self-help programs for children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Reamer’s innovation in adapting research based interventions to online formats brings solution-focused and wellness oriented programs to people across the world. She has contributed to the development of StopPulling.com, StopPicking.com, DareToQuit.com, and OCDChallenge.com. PsycTech, Ltd. and eInnerAct, Ltd. goals are to continue developing new internet based self-help programs that can reach an audience who does not have access to professionals and assist them in developing healthy skills that can be used throughout their lives. Dr. Reamer is a licensed psychologist serving individuals in Houston, Texas through her independent practice.

Dr. Patrick S. Bordnick is a Professor with the University of Houston-Graduate College of Social Work. Dr. Bordnick has over 17 years experience in clinical and laboratory research on cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, amphetamine, and nicotine addiction. Research interest areas include clinical medication trials, treatment development, human laboratory studies, virtual reality, and novel data collection/techniques. Dr. Bordnick has research grants from l NIH grants for nicotine craving, alcohol craving, and VR alcohol treatment development. Dr. Bordnick is also Co-researcher on many NIH funded projects and has had numerous state and privately funded projects on drug craving and reactivity. Dr. Bordnick received an international award in 2004 for outstanding scientific merit in VR drug abuse research from the Canada Chair in Cyber Psychology.

Dr. Bordnick envisions a world where humans interact seamlessly with technology, to improve teaching, research, therapy, and aid in knowledge building. Using technology to solve real world problems has been the hallmark of Dr. Bordnick's work. Current projects include: Virtual reality systems for assessing drug use triggers and craving, Virtual reality treatment software for nicotine dependence, Virtual reality programs for studying drug use contexts, web based self-help programs for OCD and program to aid veterans locate resources, and testing clinical teaching systems based on artificial intelligence platforms. Dr. Bordnick is one of the foremost experts in the world on virtual reality cue reactivity.