Services

Evaluations

A comprehensive evaluation must always be conducted before any treatment begins. Due to the variation of the impact of anxiety disorders on the patient and family, an individualized diagnostic assessment is necessary to determine the patient’s specific needs. The evaluation inquires into the patient’s specific symptoms, history and onset of symptoms, and psychosocial factors, such as the individual’s family and larger system that may influence the treatment. Any co-occurring disorder should also be considered, since many anxiety disorders have a tendency to co-occur with each other or with other mood disorders, which would influence treatment factors. The assessment process is always an ongoing one as new data that are discovered after the initial assessment is evaluated and incorporated into the treatment plan. Each treatment plan should be tailored to the patient’s individual needs, and should consider the individual’s developmental level, adaptive functioning, and the family context as it relates to the disorder. Thus, the patient and family must participate fully for the successful development and implementation of the individualized treatment plan.

To schedule an initial evaluation, please contact us.

Mindfulness Based Strategic Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the first line, evidence-based treatment for anxiety disorders. In essence, CBT works effectively by combining 2 forms of treatment:

Behavior Therapy helps to weaken the connections between troublesome situations and your habitual reactions to them. Such reactions as fear, depression, or anger are self-defeating behaviors that cloud your ability to think logically and inhibit your capacity to resolve the situation healthily. It teaches you how to calm your mind and body, so you can feel better, think more clearly, make better decisions, and approach the problem situation with more adaptive skills.

Cognitive Therapy teaches how certain maladaptive thinking patterns cause the difficulties or symptoms. These maladaptive thinking patterns are habitual misperceived thoughts that occur automatically and create a distorted picture of what’s going on in the problem situation. Because they transpire so automatically, the distorted thoughts often occur outside of your awareness resulting in negative emotions and actions. Cognitive therapy helps you become more mindfully aware of your thinking patterns in order to increase your ability to identify the distorted negative thoughts. Once these negative automatic thoughts are identified, we can modify them to reflect the situation more realistically and appropriately.

Mindfulness Training increases the ability to be in the present moment physically, emotionally, and mentally. Being mindfully aware means “being” in the here-and-now, rather than ruminating over the past or worrying about the future. The moment-by-moment process of actively observing the environment and mindfully attending to one’s experiences is crucial to our ability to identify those irrational thoughts and faulty beliefs that trigger anxiety. In turn, being able to mindfully identify those negative thinking patterns provides the opportunity to adjust for those distorted cognitions, correct our misperceptions, and minimize the unnecessary discomfort from anxiety.

Paradoxical Strategic Interventions is one of the distinguishing features integrated with this treatment program. The strategic approach is utilized for those covert, long-standing, repetitious patterns of symptoms that do not respond to direct interventions, such as logical explanations or rational suggestions. Paradoxical strategies are specific and behavioral in terms of its treatment approach, and are actually part of and embedded into behavioral interventions. In general, the combination of standard CBT integrated with paradoxical strategies allows you to identify the negative thinking patterns (e.g., “this is too hard,” “I’ll never finish all this work,” etc.) that tend to overwhelm our abilities to function effectively, which then influences our behaviors. You will acquire the skills and tools necessary to manage your thoughts rationally and handle the problem situation with healthy and adaptive behaviors.

The goals of therapy are to prevent the repetition of maladaptive thinking and behaviors, and introduce more adequate alternatives. This treatment is short-term, and many of our patients complete the program within 4 to 6 months on a weekly basis with significant symptom reduction by the 6th session. This program is available for treating:

• Individuals
• Family
• Couples
• Children and Adolescents

To find out further details about treatment for a specific condition, please contact us. Return to top

3-Week Intensive Treatment Program

For those patients with more severe symptoms, an intensive approach may be necessary to benefit most from treatment. Research has indicated that an intensive treatment approach is effective for severe anxiety symptoms, because it keeps you focused on applying the acquired skills throughout the day. Change occurs more rapidly from the continuous reinforcement of the tools utilized. The intensive program is also ideal for our patients from other states and countries seeking highly individually-tailored treatment for their anxiety disorders.

To inquire on our intensive treatment program, please contact us. Return to top

Group Therapy

Group therapy is a highly effective treatment option for various anxiety disorders. Groups will last for 75 minutes, and will meet weekly for 8 sessions. We are currently offering the following groups:

Social/Performance/Sports Anxiety:
Sufferers of social anxiety disorder often feel that they are under the scrutiny of the public eye. Thus, they become intensely nervous when having to perform or interact socially in public or around other people. Sufferers perceive others as critically judgmental of them, and consequently fear making mistakes, appearing foolish, and feeling embarrassed. As a result, certain people, places, or situations are often avoided or endured with extreme anxiety. Social, Performance, and Sports Anxiety affect over 16 million Americans in the general population, and numerous athletic/media performers.
**This group will teach members a variety of effective tools to combat their fears during social/performance/sports anxiety in order to facilitate positive social interactions This is an excellent adjunct to therapy and can also be helpful on its own.

Panic Attacks No More:
A panic attack is a sudden surge of overwhelming fear that comes without warning and without any obvious reason. It is far more intense than having anxiety or the feeling of being “stressed out” that most people experience. Panic attacks reach full intensity within a few minutes, and diminish slowly 30 minutes to several hours later. Commonly, sufferers may feel like they’re “going crazy” with no escape, and end up in an emergency medical facility with complaints of chest pain and difficulty breathing. They may be even misdiagnosed as having heart attacks. The first attack often triggers subsequent attacks as severe as the initial attack. One out of every 75 people will experience a panic attack at some time in their lives.
**This group will provide effective tools to bring rapid relief during panic attacks. Members will learn to apply these skills across all settings. Group members will support and encourage one another in this process. This group will highlight basic coping techniques and build off of these tools to create lasting results.

Managing Your Stress to Parent a Child with ASD Effectively:
When a child suffers, the entire family suffers. Nearly 1 out of every 100 children born is affected with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Consequently, 1 out of every 100 families are impacted by a loved one suffering from an ASD. This group, developed for parents of children with an ASD, focuses on building coping skills for the anxiety and frustration parents often experience with their child’s daily struggles. It is designed to support all parents of a child with an ASD regardless of the child’s severity or diagnosis. This support group is free and is facilitated by RFC staff members with extensive backgrounds and trainings in ASD.
**Help Yourself AND Help Your Family – Gain the Support and Knowledge that All Parents Need!**

For further information or to take advantage of one of these groups, please contact us. Return to top