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Portola Valley proclaims May 2026 Mental Health Awareness Month; local clinician briefs council on OCD
Summary
The council proclaimed May 2026 Mental Health Awareness Month and heard a presentation from a local clinician and OCD‑support organization volunteer about obsessive‑compulsive disorder, early signs and effective treatments; presenter noted long delays to diagnosis and urged community education.
The Portola Valley Town Council proclaimed May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month and invited clinical volunteer Scott (speaker 15) to brief the council on obsessive‑compulsive disorder (OCD) and related conditions.
Scott described several common OCD presentations and stressed that most people receive delayed or no diagnosis: "people on average go 7 years before they actually get a diagnosis," he said, and he added that many people with OCD never receive appropriate care. He emphasized evidence‑based treatment approaches — exposure and response prevention as a specialized form of cognitive behavioral therapy and, when indicated, medication in combination with therapy.
Scott also highlighted peer‑run, no‑cost local support groups and regional resources operated by OCD San Francisco and the International OCD Foundation, and left printed newsletters and referral information for attendees. The council thanked him for the presentation and arranged for the materials to be made available to the public.
Why it matters: The presentation and proclamation aim to raise local awareness of mental‑health needs and to point residents toward specialized resources for diagnosis and treatment.
What happens next: Staff will make the presenter’s newsletters available at town hall and add links to the IOCDF referral pages to the town website. The council encouraged staff to publicize mental‑health resources during the month.
Attributions: Quotes in this article are taken from the meeting transcript; the proclamation text and the presenter’s statistics are drawn from his talk to the council.
