(212) 787-5564
email Dr. Hubbard at
bh2140@columbia.edu

Jumpstart Your Recovery with Intensive CBT

The Essence of Effective Anxiety Treatment

Intensive CBT (cognitive-behavior therapy) provides a concentrated dose of exposure, the essence of effective treatment for panic, phobias, agoraphobia and OCD. Exposure is the process of approaching feared areas a little at a time to promote habituation (desensitization), a natural process by which the brain stops producing fear.

How Intensive CBT Works

The goal of Intensive CBT is to provide sufficient exposure to jumpstart your recovery and quickly set you on the right path to success. It's a crash course in CBT. Sessions are administered daily over a period of several weeks. And the sessions are longer, at least 90 minutes--time enough for habituation, the natural reduction in fear, to occur. This way your brain can convincingly learn there is no true danger.

Intensive CBT also helps by providing concentrated, coached practice of core cognitive-behavioral skills. It provides opportunities to

test catastrophic expectations on the proving ground of direct experience (cognitive restructuring)
practice attaining a centered, relaxed attitude in the face of fear and discomfort (natural relaxation)
develop specific skills needed to participate with confidence in target areas (e.g., conversation/communication, assertiveness, conflict resolution, problem-solving)

A Coaching Relationship to Bring Out Your Best

Setting aside well-honed avoidance strategies to approach fear is difficult work. Your therapist will provide a concentrated dose of coaching and support to help you stay on track and complete the treatment.