Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is designed to be a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy. It has been extensively researched and has been proven to successfully treat mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, obsessive-compulsive and tic disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, and insomnia. CBT uses specific strategies to help patients practice more helpful patterns of thinking and behaving, which leads to positive changes in emotions and decreased functional challenges. While the CBT skills are taught in the office, it is critical that patients practice the skills between sessions to help aide in generalization to everyday life.

CBT is not a one-size-fits-all methodology. While it has been shown to be successful for many mental health conditions, there are others (ex. some types of PTSD or depression) that may need tailored intervention.

In addition, due to the "here and now" nature of CBT, those with significant childhood trauma may not benefit from CBT, as it does not always take into account the significant family relationships and/or childhood experiences an individual has undergone which contribute to the presenting issues.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) focuses on helping patients to behave more consistently with their own values. Patients learn to apply mindfulness and acceptance skills to their responses to uncontrollable experiences. ACT focuses on 3 main concepts: Accept your reactions and be present, Choose a valued direction, Take action.

A good place to start when preparing for therapy is figuring out your “why”. Why did you decide to seek help? Why is now the right time? Coming prepared with thoughts about these questions will help to develop a treatment plan best suited for you. In addition, bring any questions/prior experience you have had in therapy. It helps to know what worked and what didn't when developing a plan.

During your first session, Dr. Gitkind will get to know you using a casual and non-judgmental approach. Depending on your comfort level, you may want to present your current concerns in a few words/sentences, or you may feel comfortable going into more depth. The goal is to "meet you where you're at". A comprehensive background interview helps to give Dr. Gitkind a detailed understanding of who you are in all areas (i.e. as a parent/child/friend/student/professional etc.). This will be conducted throughout the first 1-2 sessions depending on comfort level.

CBT is not designed to be a "life sentence". Specific skills work can be learned in anywhere from 8-12 sessions, and at that point, we can decide whether to continue with skills work, or transition into a supportive therapy approach.

There are several important things to consider when evaluating whether therapy is working. First of all, are you being honest with yourself and your therapist? Secondly, do you feel as though you are moving towards your therapy goals? Lastly (and probably most important), are you feeling better? If the answer to these questions is yes, therapy is likely working.

While CBT is proven to be effective, there are circumstances where a patient may feel that they have not made the progress they would have expected from therapy alone. In this case, a referral to a psychiatrist can be discussed if medication is being considered as a next step. Dr. Gitkind has several relationships with psychiatrists who she consults with on patients.

Parents play an integral role in treatment for their children. The 45-minute sessions are structured with 35 minutes of one-to-one skills work with the child, and the remaining 10 minutes with parent(s) present to learn the skill. In this way, both parent and child know how to practice skills between sessions and everyone is is part of the learning process.

First, set realistic expectations. For example, if you have dealt with anxiety for much of your life, therapeutic goals may be to learn effective coping strategies to deal with the feelings rather than expect to completely absolve them. Second, do your homework! CBT is skills-based which means you will likely be asked to practice between sessions. Without practice, there is no way to take the skills you learn and generalize them to real-life. Last, make a commitment. Many of us have busy and over-scheduled lives. Once you make the decision to seek treatment for yourself or your child, consider that other sacrifices may need to take place in order to make therapy most beneficial.

Dr. Gitkind is available to consult with any professional who has been/is currently part of your (or your child/teens) treatment. This includes medical, mental health, school and any other practitioner who lends insight into treatment.

Dr. Gitkind does not work directly with any insurance panels, but provides you with a superbill at the end of each month which can be used for reimbursement.