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About Us

Choosing a Therapist

We often hear a common question from potential clients:

“I’ve been in therapy many times for my anxiety. How is your treatment different?”

To start, our therapists are specialists in anxiety disorders, equipped with a deep understanding of the various ways anxiety can manifest. This may include strange thoughts, frightening body sensations, fears, or compulsions. We have extensive experience in addressing these issues.

Our approach to treatment is both time-limited and symptom-focused. We work collaboratively with you to establish a personalized treatment program tailored to your specific challenges. Rather than delving into your past, we equip you with practical tools to address the present. Our main focus is on the here and now—identifying what isn’t working in your life and developing strategies to tackle these obstacles.

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Note: TERRAP may be an out of network provider.

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We offer a step-by-step approach that encourages you to confront uncomfortable situations rather than avoid them. Our comprehensive program for panic and anxiety disorders includes vital life skills such as assertiveness and problem-solving. Additionally, we maintain a strong network of professionals within the community to assist you, whether you need someone to monitor your medication, an understanding primary care doctor, or another specialist sensitive to your anxiety disorder.

As a participant in our program, you will receive a complete manual, delivered one lesson at a time, which you will have the opportunity to keep.

How To Choose the Right Therapist

Only one out of four people with phobias, panic disorder, social anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder obtains competent help for their problems. While these disorders are very treatable and respond well to appropriate interventions, unfortunately, very few therapists have the training or experience to be truly effective in this specialty. If you are considering a therapist, you may find it helpful to ask him or her the following questions.

Be a wise consumer. If you are suffering from any form of anxiety, make sure your therapist is a specialist.

1. Do you specialize in treating people with agoraphobia, phobias, panic disorder, or obsessive-compulsive disorder? If the answer is no, then move on. If yes, ask what percentage of their clients fall into these categories. (It should be at least 70%.)
 
2. Does the treatment involve cognitive/behavioral therapy?
 
3. Do you do in-vivo desensitization? That is, do you take people into different situations which they are either avoiding or are uncomfortable in, i.e., driving, shopping, eating in restaurants, etc? (A major component of recovery is doing the things you fear. It is helpful to have someone with you when you begin facing difficult situations.)
 
4. Aside from your primary degree, what training and experience do you have in treating anxiety disorders? Do you have any SPECIALIZED training in treating these disorders? If so, please describe.
 
5. Does treatment have any structure? Do you provide any educational materials?
6. Is it possible to speak with a recovered client? If the therapist has recovered clients, he can easily obtain permission for them to speak with a fellow sufferer.
 
7. Do you include support people (spouse, family, significant others) in the treatment program? (Many people find it significantly improves their recovery if support people are incorporated into the treatment.)
 
8. Do you routinely confer with other professionals who specialize in treating anxiety disorders?
 
9. What does treatment cost? Is it covered by insurance? After considering the information you received and being satisfied with all of the answers, you should set up an appointment to meet with the therapist in person. You may want to use the following rating scale to evaluate the therapist.

Choosing A Therapist

Answer on a scale from 1 to 5:
1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree

I feel comfortable with the therapist.
The therapist is easy to talk to.
The therapist answered all of my questions.
The therapist is willing to speak with other members of my family.
What the therapist says makes sense to me.
In general, my contact with the therapist gave me a more hopeful feeling.
The therapist is casual and informational rather than stiff and formal.

A total of 20 or below is unacceptable. Do not hesitate to see several therapists before choosing one to work with. Also, decisions are not irreversible. Don’t feel that you have to stay with someone simply because you have been working with them for years. It is your time, money, and well-being that are at stake. You should see some progress in a relatively short period. If you don’t, it may be time to switch therapists! Good luck.