Anxiety Disorders Center:  Available Treatment

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) - proven to be effective for many anxiety disorders, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of counseling that focuses on teaching clients to:

• gradually confront the things they fear in order to feel less afraid

• learn healthier ways of coping with stressful situations

• become aware of-- and then change-- the way they think in critical situations

CBT is different from other kinds of psychotherapy or "talk therapy." Whereas some forms of therapy focus on helping the person to discover why they feel anxious, CBT emphasizes teaching the person how to feel less anxious. Whereas traditional psychotherapy often takes place over several years, CBT is designed to be a relatively brief treatment with distinct, tangible goals. The advantages of CBT are a lack of unwanted side effects and long-lasting beneficial effects that continue even after the person leaves treatment. The disadvantages are that the effects of CBT may take a longer period of time to develop, although sometimes effects can be seen after just a few visits, and that CBT involves more time and effort on the part of the person with the anxiety disorder.

For a more thorough description of CBT, click here.

Individual Therapy - Treatment may be provided on an individual basis.  This means that patients will meet one on one with a clinician approximately once a week.  Given that CBT is designed to be a short term treatment, patients in individual therapy will be seen for up to 20 sessions.  After 20 sessions patients seeking additional treatment may be referred to one of our maintenance groups or may be referred to a therapist outside the Anxiety Disorders Center for longer term treatment. 

Group Therapy - Therapy may also be provided on a group basis.  In group treatment patients will meet with a clinician and several other patients to discuss and work on problems similar to their own.  Group therapy still follows a CBT format and we actively engage in tasks aimed at reducing anxiety during our group sessions.  Groups are available for those that are in the active stage of treatment and for those who seek to maintain treatment.  Among our active treatment groups are our unified group (for individuals with social phobia, panic disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder) and our compulsive hoarding group (20 session group).  Please ask about our current available groups during your phone screen. 

Intensive (daily) outpatient therapy is available for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and school refusal.  During intensive treatment patients come into treatment daily for 1.5 to 2 hours each day.  Our intensive programs are on an individual basis and run for one week (panic disorder) or three weeks (obsessive-compulsive disorder and school refusal).

Virtual Reality Therapy is available for the treatment of problems such as social phobia, fear of flying, fear of storms, fear of heights, and posttraumatic stress disorder related to 9/11, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. 

Medications -  We do not prescribe medications in our clinic.  Some clients already have a psychiatrist whom they wish to keep seeing; we can work with the existing psychiatrist and make recommendations as needed.  Alternatively, we are happy to refer clients to a local psychiatrist for medications as needed.

Free treatment may be available for people who are participating in clinical research projects. Some of these projects involve medications, others involve CBT. Contact the Anxiety Disorders Center for more information about research projects.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact:
Sharon Goulet, Administrative Associate
phone: (860) 545-7685
email: sgoulet@harthosp.org  

Top