Evidence-Based Therapy Clinic

Providing Evidence-Based Therapy

Doctoral students in our clinical psychology program provide evidence-based therapy under the direction of a licensed clinical psychologist. Our services are skills-based and time-limited, and we actively track clients’ progress to ensure they are making meaningful treatment gains. This is done within the context of establishing a warm, supportive therapeutic relationship between the clinician and client. Developmentally appropriate play-based strategies are also incorporated into treatment.

We primarily provide therapy to children and adolescents; however, we also offer therapy in a limited capacity to adults seeking individual or couples therapy. We specialize in offering intervention services for the following types of presenting problems:

• Anxiety (e.g., persistent worries, school refusal, social phobia, panic disorder, OCD, etc.)

  Many youth experience fears, worries, stress and anxiety. Some are even terrified to go to school or refuse school altogether, have panic attacks, are extremely shy, do not speak at all in certain situations or engage in repetitive behaviors aimed at decreasing their fears. When these types of symptoms occur regularly, cause distress and/or negatively impact young people’s lives, they may be reflective of an anxiety disorder. Specific examples of anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, specific phobia, separation anxiety disorder, selective mutism, panic disorder and agoraphobia.

  We have a treatment team that specializes in treating clients with anxiety disorders. We offer evidence-based treatments for anxiety disorders, many of which stem from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Interventions for anxiety and related disorders involve a hefty dose of exposure (i.e., activities during which your therapist supportively and systematically helps you come face to face with the thing that causes you fear until you become more comfortable and confident when faced with it). Treatment can also include helping you learn to think differently about the things that initially cause you worry and fear, and to develop methods for calming your body and mind.

  Your therapist will begin by conducting an assessment to ensure they understand the exact nature of your symptoms, and will then develop an individualized treatment plan. Once you and your therapist have agreed on the treatment goals, you’ll engage in weekly therapy sessions and complete regular homework between sessions. Most clients have a significant decrease in their anxiety symptoms within about 12–16 sessions.

   

• Depression

  It’s normal to feel down or sad from time to time, but when these feelings occur frequently or last for quite some time, they might be a signal of depression. While depression often involves extended periods of sadness or feeling down, irritability can sometimes be more evident than sadness among youth. Depression typically involves a change from usual functioning; children and adolescents may show diminished energy or lose interest in activities such as school work, sports or friendships that once brought them satisfaction. They may show changes in sleep patterns or appetite that cannot be traced to illness. Feelings of low self-worth or low self-esteem are often part of depression. Youth may criticize themselves harshly, express feelings of hopelessness or believe they are unloved. In some cases, depressed youth might express suicidal thoughts or injure themselves (e.g., by cutting).

  Several of our clinical supervisors have specialty training in treating youth depression! Treatment of depression can help youth overcome current symptoms and prevent the development of future depressive episodes. Treatment guidelines developed by a number of professional organizations recommend Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as the first line of intervention, although other science-based options like Interpersonal Psychotherapy may also be considered. CBT typically involves a combination of behavioral activation (e.g., pleasant event planning and engagement) and thought modification.

  Your therapist will begin by conducting an assessment to ensure they understand the exact nature of your symptoms and will then develop an individualized treatment plan. Once you and your therapist have agreed on the treatment goals, you’ll engage in weekly therapy sessions and complete regular homework between sessions. Most clients have a significant decrease in their depressive symptoms within about 12–16 sessions.

• Trauma (e.g., PTSD, history of abuse, etc.)

  Traumatic events come in all shapes and sizes, but typically occur when we face or witness an immediate threat to ourselves or a loved one. People respond to trauma differently, but many end up experiencing fear, terror, panic, withdrawal, “freezing” and emotional distress like guilt or shame, both in the moment and after the fact. Reactions to a traumatic event can also have lasting effects on the individual’s daily functioning, ability to sleep, willingness to be alone and self-concept. If someone is exposed to traumatic events or traumatic situations that overwhelm their ability to cope, they may meet criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

  At the Center for Child and Family Psychology, we have two supervisors with expertise in treating clients who have experienced trauma. Their supervision teams offer evidence-based interventions such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for clients who are struggling with the aftereffects of trauma. These interventions are rooted in understanding the connection between the traumatic experience and the affected individual’s emotional and behavioral responses. The purpose of trauma-focused, evidence-based therapy is to teach skills and strategies to help the client better understand and cope with the trauma, and to help the client create a more adaptive understanding of the experience that took place in their life. Treatment also often involves gradual exposure to the traumatic event in the form of thinking and talking about it with the support of your clinician.

  Your therapist will begin by conducting an assessment to ensure they understand the exact nature of your symptoms and will then develop an individualized treatment plan. Once you and your therapist have agreed on the treatment goals, you’ll engage in weekly therapy sessions and complete regular homework between sessions. Most clients feel ready to terminate therapy within about 16–20 sessions.

• Behavior challenges associated with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) such as temper tantrums and defiance

  Even the best-behaved children can be difficult and challenging at times; however, if your child or teenager has a frequent and persistent pattern of anger, irritability, arguing, defiance, impulsivity, or otherwise annoying and frustrating behaviors, therapy may be helpful! Some children with challenging behavior patterns may meet criteria for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), whereas others may seem to exhibit symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Even if your child does not meet criteria for a specific diagnosis, we can help them learn to manage their emotions and behaviors, and we can help you develop more effective parenting skills.

  Research has identified specific types of interventions that help children behavior in more adaptive ways and help parents feel more confident. Many of these interventions have a few core components: helping parents establish clear behavior expectations, developing a system of rewards and consequences for child behavior, enhancing the quality of the parent-child relationship, and teaching children emotion regulation skills. Typically, parents are heavily involved in the therapy, although individual work with youth is also done depending upon the specific circumstances. The most common form of science-based intervention for behavior challenges in youth is called Parent Management Training (PMT), and it can be effectively done in individual or group formats.

  Some youth with ADHD do not have temper tantrums and other challenging behaviors, but rather struggle to focus, stay organized, carry out multi-step directions and listen to others for more than a few moments. This presentation is referred to as ADHD, predominantly inattentive subtype (ADHD-I). Stimulant medications have been shown to be effective in reducing ADHD-I symptoms and in improving children’s classroom behavior, but for many children, medication is not sufficient to return the child to age-appropriate functioning. Greater improvements are often found when medication is combined with behavior therapy and the use of combined therapy has been shown to lower the dose of medication to attain improvement. While we do not prescribe medication in our clinic, we can refer you to a physician who does and provide you with excellent behavior therapy.

  Your therapist will begin by conducting an assessment to ensure they understand the exact nature of your symptoms and will then develop an individualized treatment plan. Once you and your therapist have agreed on the treatment goals, you’ll engage in weekly therapy sessions and complete regular homework between sessions. Most clients feel ready to terminate therapy within about 12–16 sessions.

• Body image and eating disorder symptoms

  Because we live in a culture and time during which certain standards of beauty (e.g., being thin) are often praised, experiencing some degree of body dissatisfaction is unfortunately common. Similarly, many people feel they have an unhealthy relationship with food. When body image concerns and/or abnormal eating patterns become more frequent and intense, however, it might be good to consider therapy. We provide evidence-based interventions for people who are distressed or impaired by their body image and/or eating habits. Specifically, we treat individuals who binge eat, purge, strictly restrict their food intake and have body dissatisfaction. While we do not treat individuals who are currently at a dangerously low body weight as a result of anorexia nervosa, we treat people with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and other disordered eating syndromes.

  At our clinic, we provide scientifically supported treatments that stem from a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) framework for eating disorders and body image distortions. Specifically, we help clients stabilize their eating patterns, address and modify concerns about body shape and size, and learn to skillfully deal with day-to-day moods and events that impact eating. When clients are youth, parents are also involved in treatment to ensure that the family context supports adaptive eating practices and body perceptions.

  Your therapist will begin by conducting an assessment to ensure they understand the exact nature of your symptoms and will then develop an individualized treatment plan. Once you and your therapist have agreed on the treatment goals, you’ll engage in weekly therapy sessions and complete regular homework between sessions. Most clients feel ready to terminate therapy within about 20 sessions of eating disorder treatment, although those with more severe presentations sometimes take longer.

   

• Parenting Challenges

  Parenting is often described as the most difficult job on earth, and for good reason! While most parents and children have occasional rough patches, some parents find that their struggles feel longstanding. For instance, many children with behavior problems benefit from highly structured and consistent parenting, but not all parents feel equipped to offer this type of caretaking without help. Other parents feel like they and their child are “mismatched” with regards to interests or personalities, and this can make connecting or getting along difficult. Because the parent/caretaker and child relationship is such an important one, many families find that getting help from a therapist trained to help parents feel more competent and confident is a very worthwhile investment.

  There are a few different evidence-based parenting interventions, each with a slightly different focus. Parent Management Training (PMT) helps parents learn how to effectively deal with unwanted child behaviors by helping establishing clear behavior expectations and developing a system of rewards and consequences for child behavior. The adolescent variant of PMT also helps teens and parents effectively communicate and navigate increasing independence. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is best suited for parents of young children and focuses on creating warmth between the caregiver and child, and teaching the caregiver how to deal calmly with child behavior problems. Other evidence-informed parenting interventions are also offered at our clinic.

  Your therapist will begin by conducting an assessment to ensure they understand the exact nature of your concerns and will then develop an individualized treatment plan. Once you and your therapist have agreed on the treatment goals, you’ll engage in weekly therapy sessions and complete regular homework between sessions. Most clients feel ready to terminate therapy within about 12–16 sessions of parenting intervention. Parenting interventions are available for individuals or in a group format.

• Romantic relationship difficulties (e.g., communication challenges, conflict management approaches, etc.)

  We offer therapy for couples who want to make their relationship the best it can be. Whether you are in a relatively new relationship or have been together for many years, all couples face challenges as they grow together. Some couples seek out couple therapy to address specific problems, such as conflict and communication, money concerns, sex, parenting, or individual challenges (like depression or anxiety). Other couples feel they are overall doing well but are facing a big change or new development in their relationship (e.g., getting married, having children, starting new jobs). Our clinic celebrates diversity. In the couple therapy clinic, our therapists are trained and supervised in working with couples from all different backgrounds and identities, as well as on issues that are specifically relevant for their communities. 

  Therapists in the couple therapy clinic use research-based programs that teach couples the skills and ways of understanding one another they need to strengthen and maintain a loving relationship. They are supervised by a licensed clinical psychologist with experience and training in working with couples clinically. Your therapist will start by conducting a thorough assessment to understand your relationship together, your current concerns and goals for therapy, and your strengths and what you already do well in your relationship. You and your partner will generally attend all sessions together, which last 50 minutes each. You can expect to begin to see positive change in your relationship within the first 12 sessions and will decide when to end therapy together with your therapist.