Drs. Linda Dubrow-Marshall and Steve K. D. Eichel offer an integrated and individualized treatment approach to help people who have anxiety disorders, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, supportive therapy, insight-oriented therapy, hypnotherapy and EMDR/Reprocessing therapy.
PANIC DISORDERS AND AGORAPHOBIA
It is normal to panic in a life or death situation. In panic disorder, ordinary events produce panic, and there are recurrent, unexpected panic attacks followed by at least one month of persistent concern about having another attack. In agoraphobia, people try to cope with their fear of panic attacks by avoiding situations similar to where an attach has occurred, or requiring the presence of a companion. Agoraphobics worry about being in places from which escape might be difficulty or embarrassing, or in which help may not be immediately available. It is common for panic disordered people to believe that their problems are physically based, and not psychological. Thus, they often first go to an emergency room before going to a psychologist. They believe that they are about to go crazy or die rather than correctly identifying it as a panic attack.
SPECIFIC PHOBIAS
People with specific phobias are extremely frightened of a specific thing that in actuality poses little or no danger. Their irrational fear may limit their lives as they unnecessarily avoid these specific situation or objects. Example are fears of blood, injections, injury, storms, animals, and airplane travel.
SOCIAL PHOBIAS
Social phobias have an overwhelming fear of scrutiny, embarrassment, or humiliation in social or performance situations, which leads to avoidance of many potentially pleasurable and meaningful activities.
OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDERS
Obsessions are persistent ideas,thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts, the goal of which is to prevent or reduce anxiety or distress. In obsessive-compulsive disorder, the symptoms take more than one hour a day or cause marked distress or impairment.
POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
The person has been exposed to a traumatic event or events and experiences persistent symptoms for more than one month afterwards, which may include nightmares, flashbacks, emotional numbing, depression, anger, and being easily startled. Some people with PTSD may also experience unwanted instances when they feel "spaced out" or "not really there" (dissociation).
GENERAL ANXIETY DISORDER
In this disorder, there are constant and exaggerated worries and anxieties about normal events, lasting at least six months.
In people with uncomplicated anxiety disorders (anxiety disorders without additional problems, such as depression, addictions, or chronic relationship issues) treatment often lasts 10-20 sessions. Complicated situations will often require longer treatment.
In anxiety disorders, delaying treatment can sometimes make a relative uncomplicated problem into a more complicated one that will ultimately require longer treatment.
Treatment is highly individualized and typically integrated, involving cognitive-behavioral, supportive therapy, and insight-oriented approaches. In addition, Drs. Dubrow-Marshall and Eichel are trained and certified in clinical hypnosis and EMDR/Reprocessing therapy, approaches that have been shown to be highly effective with anxiety disorders. Usually, treatment will eventually involve imaginal and then in vivo (live) exposure to the feared situation or stimulus. You will know when it is time to end treatment when you are able to handle the formerly anxiety-producing situation with little or no discomfort.
