Anxiety disorders are frequently related to specific situations/objects or generalized worry about a variety of circumstances. Oftentimes, individuals with anxiety disorders may have co-occurring depressive symptoms and physical symptoms such as tension, pain, or fatigue. These disorders are common and most are considered treatable through a variety of evidence-based techniques which are described below.

What disorders do we FOCUS ON?

Our programming focuses on treating 4 distinct diagnostic categories: Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (including Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors such as hair pulling and skin picking), Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders, and Somatic Symptoms and Related Disorders.

ANXIETY DISORDERS

Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive fear and anxiety, which often result in avoidance and other behavioral disturbances. This category includes:

• Separation Anxiety

• Selective Mutism

• Specific Phobia

• Social Anxiety Disorder

• Panic Disorder

• Agoraphobia

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE RELATED DISORDERS

Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders may involve obsessions (intrusive thoughts or urges), compulsions (repetitive behaviors or mental acts), and/or recurrent body-focused repetitive behaviors. This category includes:

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder

• Hoarding Disorder

• Trichotillomania (Hair-pulling)

• Excoriation (Skin-Picking)

TRAUMA AND STRESSOR RELATED DISORDERS

Trauma- and stressor-related disorders are marked by psychological distress and related behavioral changes following a traumatic or stressful experience. This category includes:

• Reactive Attachment Disorder

• Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Acute Stress Disorder

• Adjustment Disorder

SOMATIC SYMPTOM AND RELATED DISORDERS

Somatic symptoms and related disorders have characteristic features related to preoccupation with perceived or diagnosed medical conditions. This category includes:

• Somatic Symptom Disorder

• Illness Anxiety Disorder (formerly Hypochondriasis)

• Conversion Disorder

• Factitious Disorder

TREATMENT PROGRAMS

 Details our treatment program are included below.

Anxiety disorders are frequently related to specific situations or objects, or could manifest as generalized worry about a variety of circumstances.  Treatment includes education and cognitive-behavioral skills related to addressing anxiety symptoms in children/adolescents as well as helping parents learn to support exposure instead of accommodating their child's anxious avoidance. 

TREATMENT PROGRAMS

Our programming focuses on 4 distinct diagnostic categories

1. Anxiety Disorders

2. Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (including Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors such as hair pulling and skin picking)

3. Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders

4. Somatic Symptoms and Related Disorders.

Sometimes, once weekly individual therapy may not be enough support to manage the symptoms of what someone may be experiencing. Individualized intensive programming may be another option to explore with your team. PBS offers programming that uses evidence-based practices in a weekly structured way to provide maximum exposure to interventions, skill development, and symptom amelioration. Programming often runs as a week-long program, however, can be offered over the course of multiple weeks.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF AN INDIVIDUALIZED INTENSIVE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Along with your team, an assessment would be conducted to identify if a higher level of support would be beneficial to address the difficulties experienced, on a case-by-case basis.

TYPES OF INTENSIVE PROGRAMS OFFERED

Just as every individual's needs are different in weekly therapy, this will dictate how your personalized intensive is set up.  We offer individualized intensive programming for OCD, anxiety, over-control, body image, eating disorders and disordered eating, food exposures, phobias, emotion dysregulation, and general mental health issues.

The Intensive Program is specially designed for adults who would benefit from more targeted treatment of OCD and anxiety-related symptoms. The Intensive Program identifies and addresses triggers to obsessions and helps patients prevent mental and behavioral compulsions. Find out more here.

The Intensive Program is specialty designed for children and adolescents who would benefit from more targeted treatment of OCD and anxiety-related symptoms. The Intensive Program identifies and addresses triggers to obsessions and helps patients prevent mental and behavioral compulsions. Our approaches include Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The Intensive program runs for five hours, five days weekly. Each patient and their family meets one-to-one with providers. Our team includes a psychiatrist and therapists.

TREATMENT SCHEDULE

1. Phone consultation with Intake Coordinator

• Goals are to assess level of care recommendations and introduce programming. The Intake Coordinator can also discuss lodging and transportation recommendations.

2. Initial intake and pre-commitment with individual Provider (4-6 weeks of once weekly individual 45-minute sessions)

• Psychoeducation (including family members)

• Psychological assessment

• Structuring the environment

• Learning non-avoidant coping

• Treatment planning and case formulation

• Development of exposure hierarchy

3. Intensive Week (9-2pm Tuesday-Monday)

• Review assigned homework exposures

• Exposure and skills development protocols

• Assign homework for the evening

4. Follow ups

• 45-minute sessions focused on relapse prevention

COMMON TREATMENT TARGETS INCLUDE:

Obsessions/intrusive thoughts related to:

• Vomitting

• Doubt

• Perfectionism

• Hurting others

• Immortality/blasphemy

• Contamination

• Asymmetry

• Flaws in appearance

• Physical symptoms/somatic obsessions (e.g., fear of