What is CBT?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, refers to a type of therapy that focuses on patterns of thinking, behavior, and responses that contribute to life distress or dissatisfaction. In CBT, clients learn techniques to recognize and change these patterns, leading to improved functioning. CBT is an empirically supported treatment for a wide variety of problems including anxiety, eating disorders, specific phobias, compulsive behaviors, and low mood. Between weekly individual sessions, clients practice skills learned in session through homework exercises. Practice of the skills increases the likelihood that they will generalize to your life outside of therapy and remain useful for you after treatment has ended.
Why is it important for my treatment to be "empirically supported"?
As a consumer trying to navigate the sea of therapy options, information about research demonstrating the effectiveness of a particular therapy is invaluable. The phrase “empirical support” refers to this information. Such information can help you identify beneficial treatment and avoid the investment of time and money in an ineffective or even harmful treatment. The overwhelming majority of empirically supported treatment is CBT. More information about empirically supported treatments for psychological problems can be found at the websites of the American Psychological Association (APA), Academy of Cognitive Therapy, and Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies (ABCT).
What is Family-based Treatment (Maudsley Approach)?
Family-based Treatment, also known as the Maudsley Approach, was developed to address disordered eating in an outpatient setting (outside of the hospital). It has been effective in preventing hospitalization and the progression of eating disorder behavior. For many clients, it is considered a promising alternative to costly inpatient or day hospital programs. Parents are seen as a resource and are allowed to play an active and positive role in treatment for their child. Family-based Treatment aims to bring about weight restoration and return the child/adolescent to his/her/ their appropriate developmental trajectory. Like other empirically supported treatments, it requires work outside of the session to maintain progress and build a repertoire of skills.
How long are therapy sessions?
Individual sessions are typically 45 minutes in length. Family sessions are 60 minutes in length. Initial evaluations vary depending on number of participants, but are typically either 60 or 120 minutes in length. The frequency and duration of sessions are established based upon your own unique concerns along with my professional knowledge of what is needed to reach the goals we agree upon.