INDIVIDUALIZED INTENSIVE TREATMENT PROGRAM

At The OCD & Anxiety Center, we offer customized treatment plans to fit your needs and schedule. What sets our clinic apart in this regard is our “Individualized Intensive Outpatient Program,” available for individuals suffering from complicated OCD, severe anxiety, or those for whom treatment must be time-limited due to upcoming moves, returns to school, or other major transitions. Treatment frequency can vary from two sessions per week for one hour each, to seven days a week with multiple sessions per day. One of our specialists will meet with you for the initial intake, and to determine the best schedule and treatment plan for you or your family member. There are several advantages to our Individualized IOP, including:

1. Unlike many hospital-based programs, all of the time you will spend with us is one-on-one, with a focus on your specific concerns and needs. While there are advantages to group-based treatment, many of our clients have enjoyed this level of personalization and support, and have found that it has helped them meet their needs in a matter of weeks.

2. The Individualized IOP can be tailored to your schedule, meaning that you can receive intensive treatment with minimal disruption to your schooling, work or other daily activities.

3. You may have the opportunity to be seen by multiple of our specialists, which offers a variety of perspectives and styles. Many clients have found it helpful to hear core therapy concepts explained in multiple ways, or to learn a variety of ways of coping with anxiety from multiple highly-trained specialists.

4. Unlike some hospital-based programs, we have the flexibility to leave our office and conduct therapy sessions in whatever environment will be most helpful to your progress. Many clients with social anxiety have benefitted from holding sessions at the local mall; still others have benefitted by having therapists visit their homes. We go wherever your anxiety happens.

Individuals with all types of emotional problems can benefit from our Individualized IOP. We have found it to be especially helpful for individuals trying to overcome severe symptoms of:

- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Hoarding Disorder
- Panic Disorder
- Agoraphobia
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Depression

If you have tried traditional outpatient treatment before with limited success, or are feeling unable to do most daily activities due to your symptoms, it may be time to try a more intensive, specialized treatment. Individuals who have been to other treatment programs, have not had much success with their symptoms, or have done traditional IOP programs have benefited from this treatment mode. A customized, aggressive treatment approach with our experienced specialists may be just what you need to receive the breakthrough you’re looking for. Contact us to learn more about our intensive treatment options today, and we’ll help you determine the best plan and means of treatment for you or your family member.

DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy aimed at helping clients to tolerate uncomfortable emotions. It is focused on creating an alliance between the client and the therapist and a therapeutic environment of validation and support. This is a model we at The OCD & Anxiety Center frequently use to help individuals who have difficulty with strong emotions, painful memories, or conflicted relationships. DBT is based on the understanding that attempting to resist or battle strong emotions frequently adds to the distress they cause us. DBT teaches a “dialectic” wherein the client learns to both honor their current strengths in coping with difficult situations, and seek to improve their coping strategies. Unlike other forms of therapy, DBT sessions are structured around the learning and practice of new skills, with the goal of helping clients to apply these in their lives both during treatment, and once treatment has ended. There are four main “modules” of skill training involved in DBT. A typical DBT session may involve:

- Mindfulness skills training, wherein the client practices focusing attention on the present moment, noticing both what is going on within and outside of themselves, and becoming and staying centered.
- Interpersonal Effectiveness skills training, wherein the client practices dealing with conflict with others, getting their needs met effectively, and saying no to unwanted requests and demands in a way that maintains self- and other-respect
- Emotion Regulation skills training, wherein the client practices understanding and naming emotions, reducing the intensity of unwanted emotions, and managing difficult emotions
- Distress Tolerance skills training, wherein the clients practices tolerating and surviving crisis situations without making things worse, and accepting reality as it is, rather than what we might hope it to be

DBT has demonstrated effectiveness in treating:

- Depression
- Bipolar Disorder
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Eating disorders
- Substance abuse
- Anger
- Conflict in relationships

At The OCD & Anxiety Center, we tailor treatment and the types of exercises we use in session to fit you and your specific concerns. If you are interested in exploring DBT therapy, you should look for a therapist with specialized training and experiences in DBT strategies. We have clinicians on staff who have received such specialized training. Please feel free to view our staff biography pages for more information. If you or someone you know would benefit from Dialectical Behavior Therapy, please reach out to us at (63 522-3124 today!

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a focused, goal oriented, skills-based, short-term form of treatment aimed at helping individuals free themselves from unhelpful behaviors and patterns of thinking. CBT has the most research evidence of its efficacy of any form of therapy, and it is the model we at The OCD & Anxiety Center use in treating nearly all of our clients. CBT is based on the understanding that our thoughts and behaviors affect how we feel; therefore, to change how we feel, we must change how we think and behave. Unlike other forms of therapy, CBT sessions are structured around the learning and practice of new skills, with the goal of helping clients to be able to continue using these skills after treatment has ended. We want all of our clients to feel empowered to “be their own therapists” even after the immediate need for therapy has ended. Rather than talking about problems in an unstructured manner, the client can expect to engage in a number of exercises with the therapist intended to make changes in their lives. A great many of our clients appreciate this active form of treatment. A typical CBT therapy session may involve any of the following exercises, alone or in combination:

- Identifying how their thoughts shape their feelings
- Determining whether thoughts are helpful or unhelpful
- Challenging unhelpful thoughts
- Coming up with new, adaptive thoughts
- Identifying how behaviors maintain anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions
- Role-playing new ways of interacting with others
- Conducting exposure exercises intended to help them face anxiety
- Resisting compulsions, or other behaviors anxiety “pushes” them to engage in
- Completing and reviewing weekly therapy homework assignments

CBT has demonstrated effectiveness in treating:

- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Generalized Anxiety
- Depression
- Separation Anxiety
- School Anxiety
- Social Anxiety
- Phobias
- Panic Attacks/Panic Disorder
- Excoriation (Skin-picking)
- Trichotillomania (Hair-pulling)
- Agoraphobia
- Health Anxiety

At The OCD & Anxiety Center, we tailor treatment and the types of exercises we use in session to fit you and your specific concerns. While CBT and behavioral methods in particular form the base of our therapeutic practice, we also incorporate cognitive methods, and borrow techniques from related treatment models such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) as needed to fit the demands of our patients. Each one of our staff members are highly trained in the delivery of these proven, evidence-based methods. If you or someone you know would benefit from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, please reach out to us at 630-522-3124 today!

ACCEPTANCE & COMMITMENT THERAPY

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, is a focused, short-term form of treatment aimed at helping individuals to become free from self-judgment and to engage in behaviors that support their values. ACT is considered a “third wave” cognitive behavioral therapy, which means that it complements much of the cognitive-behavioral work we at The OCD & Anxiety Center do with all of our clients. ACT is based on the understanding that many of us can become engrossed in our thoughts, viewing them as objective truths, rather than just what they are – thoughts. Through structured exercises, ACT aims to help disentangle clients from the burden of overwhelming thoughts and to focus on the present moment, rather than ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. Through these processes, clients become aware of what really matters to them and become free to follow what they value. A great many clients appreciate this form of treatment, which can go beyond current emotional concerns to help them lead more fulfilling lives. A typical ACT session may involve any of the following exercises, alone or in combination:

- Meditation to aid in noticing thoughts
- Defusion exercises to aid in disengaging from thoughts
- Acceptance exercises to help accept reality as it is
- Values clarification
- Making goals to help clients live in accordance with values

Recent research has demonstrated that ACT is beneficial in treating a number of emotional and behavioral concerns. ACT has demonstrated effectiveness in treating:

- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

At The OCD & Anxiety Center, we tailor treatment and the types of exercises we use in session to fit you and your specific concerns. Each one of our staff members are highly trained in the delivery of these proven, evidence-based methods. If you or someone you know would benefit from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, please reach out to us at (63 522-3124 today!