Intensive Treatment Program

We often get requests for treatment from individuals living outside of the Tallahassee, FL area. To address the needs of these individuals, one treatment option is an intensive therapy program where the individual travels to Tallahassee for a period of 5 to 10 days and receives daily therapy sessions that cover all of the skills covered during the traditional 10-12 week treatment protocol. We have had individuals from Europe, Canada and throughout the United States participate in the intensive treatment program.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This treatment is a very intensive form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) administered over a period of 5 to 10 days depending upon the nature and severity of the problem. In addition, patients are followed using email or telephone contact after leaving the program.

During the program, patients are engaged in the treatment throughout the day. Typically, therapy lessons are initiated in the morning with the afternoons are spent practicing skills either with a therapist or on their own. The goal being to have patients working more independently over time as their skills and confidence grows.

The therapy sessions are highly demanding and require a good deal of motivation and courage. Usually patients are seen by a number of different therapists during the treatment all of whom are highly trained in the intensive CBT protocol. Dr. Schmidt oversees the coordination of the treatment.

ELIGIBILITY

This program is right for only a small percentage of people with anxiety problems. To be eligible, you need to have a diagnosis of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. There are other conditions that may make this treatment less ideal including a history of Bipolar Illness, Schizophrenia, or current substance and/or alcohol abuse. There are also certain non-psychiatric medical conditions that could limit your participation in this program. As a result, we will conduct a thorough phone assessment to determine whether you might be a good candidate.

To participate in the program, you must be able to travel to Tallahassee. Typically, we have participants staying at hotels on or near the FSU campus and within walking distance of the clinic. We also have made transportation arrangements for patients that have difficulty getting from a hotel to the clinic.

Even if this program is suitable for you, you should be aware that there are other effective, less expensive treatments including standard forms of cognitive behavioral therapy that are typically conducted on a one session per week schedule over a period of three or four months. The intensive program was designed for people who do not have access to other forms of treatment, have not responded to them, have time constraints, or prefer a very intensive form of therapy.

COST

The cost of the treatment is typically around $500 per day, which includes all of the assessments and the therapy as well as some follow-up contact. Because of the time commitment, we request an advance payment of approximately half of the total expected amount due with the remainder payable at the completion of the treatment. In addition, participants are required to pay any costs necessary for the out-of-office work (for example, car rentals, transportation fares, other costs of travel. If you stay in a hotel while you are in Tallahassee, we can assist you with reservations but we do not provide accommodations. We regret that we do not accept insurance and cannot guarantee that insurance companies will reimburse you for the program. However, we will provide a statement that can be submitted to insurance companies.

SCREENING PROCEDURE

Because of the significant cost and effort the intensive program entails, we want to be sure that the patients we accept are good candidates for this form of treatment. To help ensure this, we will conduct an assessment over the phone and we may also have participants complete assessment instruments that they can mail back to the clinic. To get more information about this program, please contact the clinic abhcfsu@psy.fsu.edu.