Services

Individual psychotherapy is a great way to focus on achieving your goals.

It’s the treatment modality used in most studies of cognitive-behavioral therapy. The majority of patients treated in individual CBT have been found to experience measurable decreases in symptoms and improvement in quality of life.

Most of our patients are seen in individual therapy once a week for 45-minute sessions. As symptoms improve, it is sometimes possible to reduce the frequency of sessions. When someone is in crises or having difficulty functioning in daily life, more frequent sessions may be recommended.

Group therapy has consistently been found to be an effective form of treatment. Groups offer several advantages.  They are a cost-effective way to learn skills that can reduce your symptoms and improve your quality of life.  Group members support each other and can learn from each other’s experience. Often members come to realize that they are not alone in the struggles they face.  Interaction with other group members may be a good way to practice skills and get feedback, particularly for interpersonal issues.

Group therapy can be a useful addition to individual therapy to help speed progress and in some situations may be used instead of individual therapy.

Most insurance plans will cover group therapy. We recommend checking with your insurance company before beginning treatment.

We are currently planning our group therapy schedule for Fall, 2017.  Groups we expect to offer include Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and our Cognitive Skills Group.  A large and growing body of research has shown that learning mindfulness skills can be an excellent way to manage difficult emotions and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.  Cognitive skills have been shown to not only reduce symptoms in the short run, but to help maintain gains long-term and improve quality of life.

To get more information or make an appointment for an initial evaluation, call our New Patient Coordinators at 202-234-0903, ext. 15, or fill out our request form:  

Making a marriage or long-term relationship work can be challenging. Couples therapy with a spouse or partner has been shown in research studies to improve relationship satisfaction and decrease the likelihood of divorce for many people.

In couples treatment you can learn more effective skills for identifying and resolving sources of stress and conflict. You can also learn ways to increase feelings of closeness and attraction and improve your sexual relationship. Couples therapy may also be an opportunity learn how to accept and live with differences within the context of a happy relationship.

Most insurance plans will not cover treatment that is solely focused on improving a marriage or relationship. However, plans typically will cover couples therapy where one or both members of the couple are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety or another covered condition and the couple’s treatment is aimed at improving those symptoms and/or helping the couple cope with the symptoms.  We recommend that you talk to your therapist about whether you might qualify for insurance coverage at the beginning of treatment.

Deliberate planned exposure to situations that trigger fear has been consistently found in research studies to be one of the most effective treatments for anxiety. When this form of treatment is recommended, we work with you to create a gradual program of exposure exercises that feels comfortable and achievable.

Often exposure can be done in the therapist’s office with recommendations for exercises you can do on your own between sessions.  However, sometimes exposure exercises are best done outside of the office in real life situations.  This is called in-vivo exposure.  Since these situations can be challenging to face on your own at first, it may be helpful to have your therapist accompany you.  When this is the case, your therapist may recommend scheduling one or more sessions outside of the office so that he or she can help you more effectively face and overcome your fears.

Depending on the situation, therapist-assisted exposure sessions may take longer than the typical 45-minute session. Insurance may not reimburse you for the full time required. Most patients need only a few sessions of therapist-assisted exposure before they are ready to continue on their own. We recommend checking with your insurance company before beginning any sessions longer than 45 minutes to see what the insurer will cover and whether pre-approval is required.

Severe anxiety or depression can make it hard to function in daily life. Some people’s symptoms are so debilitating that meeting once or twice per week is not enough. In addition, there are some situations where it is important to make more rapid progress than could ordinarily be achieved with weekly sessions.

We offer short-term intensive treatment for anxiety disorders and depression using a team approach. Sessions can be scheduled up to five days per week. You will be assigned a primary therapist who will work with you to custom-design a treatment program. Often a second member of our clinical staff will assist in the treatment. Intensive treatment typically lasts for two to four weeks, but may be extended as necessary. We generally recommend less frequent sessions for follow-up care after the intensive treatment has ended.

Most insurance companies require pre-approval for intensive treatment and may not cover all sessions. You should discuss insurance coverage with your therapist as part of the treatment planning process.